Arrested woman Maoist in Chhattisgarh hospital with head,spinal injuries

Soni Sori received injuries in her head and spinal cord,allegedly in police custody.

Alleged Maoist Soni Sori,who was arrested in Delhi last week and then brought to Dantewada on transit remand,received injuries in her head and spinal cord,allegedly in police custody,on Monday.

She was taken to the Dantewada district hospital at 10 am in an unconscious state,and was moved to Jagdalpur,Bastar,later in the evening. Her x-ray report confirmed injuries on the right side of her head and lower back.

Sori was to be produced before a Dantewada court today. Police took her in a van to the court but she could not come out of the vehicle. Additional District Judge Yogita Wasnik then converted her police custody into judicial custody till October 17.

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Police are framing innocent tribals and persecuting them, said Himanshu Kumar,who ran an NGO in Dantewada before he was allegedly forced to move to Delhi.

The Chhattisgarh police,however,denied the charges. ADG (Naxal) Ramnivas said: She was taken to the hospital for a routine check-up before being produced in the court. About the injuries,he said that Sori slipped in the bathroom.

A police officer in Dantewada said: In a statement to doctors in Dantewada hospital in the presence of the police,she confirmed that she slipped in the bathroom and sustained head and back injuries.

However,in Jagdalpur hospital Sori told TV reporters: I was mentally harrassed by the police. I sustained injuries in the police station. I will disclose more about these later.

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Arrested from Delhi for allegedly acting as a conduit between the Maoists and Essar group,Sori had moved the Delhi High Court on Friday requesting that the Chhattisgarh Police not be allowed to take her back to the state. Claiming a threat to her life,she said the state police had tried to kill her in an encounter on September 11.

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