Mohammad Imran Navy from Gampur village of Dantewada6 minutes ago
today is Mother’s Day. On this occasion, we bring to you the story of a mother who has been fighting for the past two years to wash off the Naxalite stain on her dead son’s forehead. The mother did not cremate her son only because she felt that if the dead body was burnt, the hope of proving her son’s innocence would also be burnt.
This is the case of village Gampur, situated in a dense forest 20 km behind the hills of Kirandul in Dantewada. According to the map, this village comes in Bijapur. Badru Madvi’s grave is outside a kutcha house in this village. Badru, 22, was shot on 19 March 2020. According to the police, he belonged to the Naxalite cadre, while Badru’s mother, Madvi Marko, says that her son had gone to the forest that day to collect Mahua. In the evening the news came that he had been shot. He has been killed.
Badru Madvi – File photo
Then the long fight for justice started
From that day onwards, the purpose of life of Madvi, the mother of Badru, changed. He is not ready to accept that his son can be linked with Naxalites. They have not yet allowed Badru’s body to be cremated. So that if the order is received from the court, then other forensic investigation including post-mortem can be done again. Madvi hopes that if there is an investigation, the stigma that Badru has on his forehead of being a Naxalite will be eradicated. Now the son is no more, but his family will not have to live with this stain.
The dead body was buried, but it should not be destroyed.
Badru’s family has kept Badru’s body wrapped in clothes after digging a 6 feet pit on the side of the village crematorium. The pit is covered with a wooden plank so that the dead body is not completely destroyed. The soil has been poured by laying polythene on top. Cots, clothes, baskets and necessities are kept near the grave. It is believed that the dead also use their dear things in the form of souls. After two years, the body has been badly decomposed, but the hope of the family is alive.
Kill Badru’s mother, Madvi.
Mother said – in Bastar everyone considers Naxalites
Madvi Marco goes to the crematorium several times a day. She sits for hours near the grave. Marco says that being the eldest son after the death of her husband, Badru was responsible for the family. In 2016, he was married to Podi. The couple does not have children. Two younger brothers Sannu and Pandru were to be married. That fateful afternoon of March 2020 changed the life of the whole family. From that day onwards, Podi and I have been counting down one day each.
Marco angrily says that in Bastar everyone is considered a Naxalite. Until the court takes this matter into consideration, I will not perform the last rites of the son, because our last hope will also burn along with the dead body. Badru’s wife Podi says that now everything has been robbed of her but she still hopes for justice.
The pit near the crematorium of Gampur village, in which Badru’s body has been kept for two years. After covering the pit with a stone slab, it is buried with a sheet of polythene and soil.
Villagers said – this is not the first incident to happen in the village
In a conversation with the Bhaskar team, a young Arjun Kadti said that such an incident has happened in his family as well. In 2017, his elder brother Bhima Kadti along with his sister-in-law had gone to the market to prepare for the sixth program of their daughter. The news came that day also that both had been killed in the encounter. Before that a villager named Maso had become a victim of gunfire.
Sometimes you get beaten up even if you don’t have an ID.
Arjun says that no one has Aadhar card nor voter card in our village. Some people have old ration cards. Many times villagers are caught in the jungles, their identity is questioned. If the documents are not there, then there is an allegation of being a Naxalite. There is also beating. Once a camp was organized near Dantewada to make Aadhar card for the people of Sukma. The people of the village had also requested the CEO of Bijapur to organize a camp, but till date no initiative has been taken.
Badru’s wife Podi showing the husband’s photo. Maa Marco Madvi standing nearby.
We are tribals, how will we stay away from the forest!
Kamlu, a youth of the village who studied till 5th standard, says that the only source of our income is forest produce. To collect it, we have to wander in the forests all day. In such a situation, many times they are looked at with suspicion from the force, and are tortured. That is why today the whole village unitedly wants to eradicate this stigma, so that a concrete solution can be given to this problem from the court itself.
SP said – Badru was a member of Naxalite cadre
Dantewada SP Siddharth Tiwari says that after the Gampur encounter, a magisterial inquiry was conducted, in which the deceased Badru Madvi was found to be part of the Naxalite cadre. Badru’s housemates are asking for a notice from the High Court, but we have not received any such notice yet. Still, once I see the case file, only then will I be able to tell.
Lawyer Soren said – time has passed, the opposition did not answer
Advocate Rajni Soren, who is fighting the case of Badru Madvi in the Bilaspur High Court, says that we have demanded the court to investigate the matter, FIR against the people involved in the encounter and charge of murder if found guilty. In the last hearing held in March, the court had given the opposition four weeks’ time to respond but no reply has been given so far. In the next hearing, we will present our side for further investigation in the court.
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