Bhubaneswar: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has instituted a case over alleged police excesses against tribals in Sijimali after accepting a petition filed by BJD MP Sasmit Patra, the Rajya Sabha member claimed on Monday.Patra met NCST chairperson Antar Singh Arya and submitted the petition. Arya assured action, including issuing notices and seeking replies on alleged violations of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) and Forest Rights Act (FRA) linked to a road and bauxite mining project, the MP said.Responding to Patra meeting the NCST chairperson, Sujit Kumar Das, media in-charge of Odisha BJP said the mines at Sijimali was auctioned and handed over to the company during the BJD govt’s tenure. “A fact finding team led by Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi immediately went to Sijimali to take stock of the situation. Govt is very sensitive about tribal issues and it is taking all necessary steps to resolve the matter,” Das said.Patra urged the NCST to immediately intervene in the Sijimali region, alleging serious police excesses and violations of constitutional and statutory rights of Scheduled Tribe communities in connection with a proposed bauxite mining project.The Rajya Sabha member flagged what he described as an ‘urgent and continuing’ situation marked by confrontation between state authorities and tribal residents. He claimed that several tribal persons, including women, were reportedly injured during police action, raising concerns over the possible excessive use of force.Invoking the commission’s powers under Article 338A of the Constitution, the MP sought an independent enquiry into the incidents. He pointed to alleged non-compliance with key protective laws, including FRA and PESA, particularly with regard to recognition of forest rights and the requirement of free, prior and informed consent of gram sabhas.The petition also called for examination of potential violations under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, if force was used disproportionately or in a targeted manner against tribal communities.
