Right across the Kutru police station in Bijapur district of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, stands the first Salwa Judum memorial: Salwa Judum Shahid Smarak. Many Salutes to the Martyrs - June 4, 2005.
On that day, the Chhattisgarh government signed a highly-publicised MoU with the Tatas for an ultra-mega steel plant in Bastar. A day later, the Salwa Judum was launched to evict Maoists from the region—a move that began a series of encounter killings that would redefine the landscape and history of Dandakaranya. Whether retributive or executed in rage or under the shield of law—by security forces or by the Maoists—the common denominator of all these killings was that the finger on the trigger acted with utmost impunity. Obviously then, the perpetrators were rarely punished and justice eluded the victims.
