In 2006, when we were first trying to acquaint ourselves with Salwa Judum, amongst the first stories of repression we heard was that of Kamlesh Paikra. A young journalist from a village in Bijapur, Kamlesh had written about the killings that had occurred in Mankeli village in 2005. His family was terrorised to such an extent that they had to leave their village and he had to give up journalism. The next victim was Afzal Khan. In November 2005, Khan, who lives in Bhopalpatnam (Bijapur district), was accused by visiting Salwa Judum leaders of helping a group of sarpanchs who had gone to meet the chief minister to request him to stop the Salwa Judum from entering their area. He was let off after a warning. Later, following a public meeting where effigies of alleged anti-Salwa Judum persons were burnt, he was taken for questioning by SPOs who accused him of writing against Salwa Judum. He was beaten so badly that there were fractures in two of his fingers. Similar INStances were reported from Konta tehsil in 2006. A local journalist, Sanjay Reddy, was beaten in a Salwa Judum camp by members of the Indian Reserve Battalion from Nagaland. Khan and Reddy have now somehow bounced back, but with an awareness of the looming threat.