But the villagers say that on March 31, a group of security personnel marched into Ponjer at about 8.30 a.m. They started abusing people, alleging that they were Naxal sympathisers. “They asked all of us to gather under a tree and later asked these six people to accompany them for questioning,” said Madiyam Soni, whose son was killed.

The security personnel and members of Salwa Judum, the anti-Naxal force supported by the government, were allegedly accompanied by the local sarpanch Minku Gangaram. Villagers say Gangaram was upset with them as they had demanded developmental work in the village.

“The security personnel took these six people to Santoshpur village, where four others were also brought. They started beating these people. When one of them tried to escape, they shot Kudiyam Mura,” says a Santoshpur villager.

Villagers from the forest near Santoshpur recovered the bodies around 5 p.m.

“How can someone act in such a cruel manner? These security personnel used axes and machetes to hack the victims,” said Kudiyan Puria, a resident of Santoshpur village.

Soni said the villagers had no contact with anyone remotely concerned with Naxalites. “These men were picked up while they were collecting mahua. Do Naxalites or their sympathisers need to do such things?” she says.

Ponjer, which is home to over 25 families, is now deserted as residents have fled to neighbouring villages. Soni and her son, twelve-year-old Madiyam Mani Ram, are the only people left. Despite threats by Salwa Judum members, the family has decided to stay back. “I want the killers of my brother to be punished,” Mani Ram says, pointing to the grave of his brother, who was buried along with three other victims of the massacre.

... contd.