Kartam Joga
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Kartam Joga | |
|---|---|
| Known for | 2010 arrest |
| Political party | Communist Party of India (Maoist) |
Kartam Joga alias Rajesh is an adivasi leader, who serves as a state committee member, technical department and military wing in-charge for the South Bastar division[1][2] of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), CPI (Maoist).[3] He was imprisoned in Chhattisgarh on suspicion of participating in the Tarmetla ambush in which 75 members of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed by CPI (Maoist) forces.[4] Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and described the charges against him as "fabricated".[5] He was acquitted at his trial for lack of evidence.[6] He also served as a Zilla Panchayat member from Jagargunda Constituency No. 11.[7]
Amnesty International states that in 2005, Joga was attacked by the Salwa Judum, a militia operating against armed Maoist groups.[5] The group states that Adivasis (Indian aboriginal peoples) like Joga are particular targets for the Salwa Judum, and Joga dedicated himself to exposing alleged human rights abuses against them.[5][better source needed]
In 2007, Joga joined three other activists in petitioning India’s Supreme Court regarding human rights violations in Chhattisgargh, charging that the Salwa Judum had committed numerous human rights violations.[8] The petition further argued that the Salwa Judum was sponsored and supplied by state security forces.[4] In April 2008, the Court directed India’s National Human Rights Commission to investigate the charges; an NHRC report partially confirmed them eight months later, and Chhattisgarh authorities were ordered to help disband the Salwa Judum and to compensate the victims.[5]