Chhattisgarh: The Year That Was

The life sentence awarded to noted rights activist, pediatrician and receipient of many international awards, Binayak Sen, was the biggest event of the Year 2010 in Chhattisgarh.

Sen was charged of sedition and conspiracy, which many top lawyers disagree with. The man, who had been working for the poor in the tribal belts of the state and providing medical care in the terrains where the administration had failed to reach, was charged for working against the country.

The Year 2010 ended with the surprise note when Sen was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 24. The judgment against Sen came as a surprise against rights activists and senior lawyers. Sen's wife Illina had been stating that there was no evidence against Sen to prove the charges.

Lawyer Ram Jethmalani had said that case against Sen was very weak. "When I read the case long ago, my impression is that there is no case against Binayak Sen," Jethmalani told a Delhi-based television channel.

Being the country's worst Naxal-infested state, Chhattisgarh witnessed some of the most horrible attacks in the year. However, the Naxal violence had cast its shadow even in the judgment against rights activist Sen, who had also been charged of helping Naxalites.

For, Additional Sessions Judge B P Verma in his ruling said: "The way that terrorists and Naxal organisations are killing State and Central paramilitary forces and innocent Adivasis and spreading fear, terror and disorder across the country and community implies that this court cannot be generous to the accused and give them the minimum sentence under law."

On April 6, Naxalites killed 75 jawans of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the country's biggest casualty on security personnel in one-go. The rebels laid a well-planned trap and ambushed the jawans near Talmetla in Dantewada district.

Before the state could have recovered from Talmetla attack, Naxalites blew up a passenger bus near Chingavaram village in Dantewada district. The rebels targeted the civilian vehicle for the first time as the security personnel had forcefully boarded the vehicle. Of the 31 dead, 15 were civilians and remaining security personnel.

On June 29, Naxalites killed 27 jawans of the CRPF when they ambushed the force near Dhaurai in Narayanpur district. Minor incidents continued through out the year.

In the Naxal violence, 161 security personnel were killed while 129 civilians lost their lives in 2010. The rebels carried away 150 sophisticated weapons from the jawans after ambushes. The security personnel killed 70 Naxalites during the period.