Testimonies of two villagers expose the illegal and violent actions by the Odisha police to protect mining interests and crush the legitimate dissent of Adivasi and Dalit villagers resisting bauxite mining by Vedanta and other corporations.

Groundxero | 8 December 2025

A group of activists have strongly condemned yet another shocking incident of intimidation and violence against the people of Kashipur block, Rayagada district—an incident that further exposes the entrenched nexus between the police, private goons, and mining companies in the region.

At around 12 noon on Sunday, December 7, a group of unidentified men—likely police personnel from the Kashipur police station—arrived in two unmarked vehicles at Sunger Chowk. They entered the garage of Dayanidhi Naik (28) and violently attempted to abduct him without any legal process, without uniforms, without warrants, and without identifying themselves. His sister-in-law Manju Naik (age 30) was also assaulted.

Such illegal and violent actions by the police have become routine in the region to protect mining interests and crush the legitimate dissent of Adivasi and Dalit villagers resisting bauxite mining by Vedanta and other corporations.

Below are the accounts given directly by Dayanidhi Naik and his sister-in-law to the activists through video and immediate phone calls after the incident.

Statement of Dayanidhi Naik:

“I am a mechanic and I repair vehicles in this garage shop for our earning and livelihood. Every day I am here, I do not go anywhere else. The police go by this road every day and look this way.  I had just finished lunch, washed my hands and in the garage where a customer had come. This big group that suddenly arrived in two vehicles entered the shop and asked me who Dayanidhi is. I asked them who they are. They said they were police staff but no one was in uniform. I looked at the vehicles. They did not have any police plate and there was no light on the top as police vehicles have. I told the boy who works with me to work on his own. I asked them what they have come for. They said they have come to take me. I said I would like to close the shop but they began pushing me towards the vehicle. Once again I said I want to close the shop. I could not make out who the others were as they were in civil dress. I only recognised the Kashipur Sub Inspector P. K. Swain who was not in uniform.

The women around immediately gathered and demanded why I am being taken away. They caught hold of my sister-in-law Manju Naik who was holding her daughter. In the scuffle, she lost an ear-ring. Meanwhile they had hit Labanya Naik’s little son badly on his leg. My elder brother Kartik Naik (age 31) had been picked up by the police only two weeks ago. Labanya Naik (age 31) has also been picked up from here.

I was shocked who these men were. I had to protect myself. So even after they put me in the vehicle I jammed the door from being shut and I fought my way out of their clutches. I have injured my finger badly.”

Manju Naik was also in front of her small grocery shop with her 4-year-old daughter when she saw Dayanidhi Naik being roughed up by the group of people.

Statement of Manju Naik:

“There were two vehicles. A big group of men got down. I do not know if they were police but the Kashipur Sub Inspector P. K. Swain was there. We rushed out as we saw them taking away Dayanidhi and putting him in the vehicle. We yelled at them to leave him.

The SI P. K. Swain raised at me the wooden stick he was carrying. When the wooden stick touched me, I fought back for my own self-defence. He caught hold of my arm in one hand and had the stick in the other. I was carrying my daughter and he threw her away from me. I fought even more and freed myself. I rushed into the house of Labanya Naik. His 11-year-old son and my daughter were frightened and crying loudly. They had hit my son also who bears a scar. They hit Labanya Naik’s sonon his leg with a stick and he is limping now. They hurled abuses at my mother who was quietly watching everything.

 I lost an ear-ring.  As we sent them back, SIP. K. Swain tried coming back once again for me. We tried to do a video but they stopped the video. The vehicles had no police sign, siren or light. They did not seem like police vehicles. Nobody was in uniform but we could recognize only the SI P. K. Swain. From small children to the elderly, anybody in these villages can recognize him.

I am very disturbed. But I will continue to sit in the shop. Otherwise, who will feed us? I have two small children and this shop. This is our only livelihood.

We have committed no crime. If they arrest us, they can. I am ready to go to jail. I will take both my children with me. My husband Kartik Naik was taken away on November 20. He has not committed any crime.”

In Kashipur and neighbouring regions of Odisha, people opposing mining are facing illegal detentions and fabricated cases; been subjected to physical assaults by goons and company agents; enduring constant police surveillance, which disrupts livelihood, mobility, and mental peace. They have repeatedly appealed to authorities at every level, all of which has been met with repression instead of justice.

The assault, particularly, on children, the use of unmarked vehicles, the absence of warrants, and the use of plainclothes personnel constitute gross violations of constitutional rights, criminal procedure, and protections guaranteed to citizens—especially vulnerable communities defending their land, livelihood and identity.

The activists called the police high-handedness a “goonda raj” and continuation of reign of terror in the region in place of rule of law. They urged that people have the democratic right to resist any illegal action of any authority in a peaceful manner.

If such abuses go unchallenged, it is not only marginalized and struggling communities who will suffer; it is society at large that will fall prey to the arbitrary whims of those entrusted with upholding the law, wrote the activists, condemning the acts of violence on the people of Kashipur.

They urged people to stand in solidarity with the people of Kashipur who continue their courageous, peaceful resistance to illegal and violent repression in defence of their mountains, forests, and cultural identity.

The statement by the activists is given below:

Statement on Increasing Police Repression, Intimidation and Harassment of Villagers of Kashipur

Bhubaneswar, 8 December, 2025

Around 12 noon on Sunday, December 7, Dayanidhi Naik (age 28) was assaulted by a group of men who entered his garage at Sunger Chowk in Kashipur block. This group of unidentified men, probably the Kashipur police, came in two vehicles. His sister-in-law Manju Naik (age 30) was also assaulted.

This is their account as given to us on video and immediate phone calls by both of them.

“I am a mechanic and I repair vehicles in this garage shop for our earning and livelihood. Every day I am here, I do not go anywhere else. The police go by this road every day and look this way. I had just finished lunch, washed my hands and in the garage where a customer had come. This big group that suddenly arrived in two vehicles entered the shop and asked me who Dayanidhi is. I asked them who they are. They said they were police staff but no one was in uniform. I looked at the vehicles. They did not have any police plate and there was no light on the top as police vehicles have. I told the boy who works with me to work on his own. I asked them what they have come for. They said they have come to take me. I said I would like to close the shop but they began pushing me towards the vehicle. Once again I said I want to close the shop. I could not make out who the others were as they were in civil dress. I only recognised the Kashipur Sub Inspector P. K. Swain who was not in uniform.

The women around immediately gathered and demanded why I am being taken away. They caught hold of my sister-in-law Manju Naik who was holding her daughter. In the scuffle, she lost an ear-ring. Meanwhile they had hit Labanya Naik’s little son badly on his leg. My elder brother Kartik Naik (age 31) had been picked up by the police only two weeks ago. Labanya Naik has also been picked up from here.

I was shocked who these men were. I had to protect myself. So even after they put me in the vehicle I jammed the door from being shut and I fought my way out of their clutches. I have injured my finger badly.”

Manju Naik was also in front of her small grocery shop with her 4-year-old daughter when she saw Dayanidhi Naik being roughed up by the group of people. She said:

“There were two vehicles. A big group of men got down. I do not know if they were police but the Kashipur Sub Inspector P. K. Swain was there. We rushed out as we saw them taking away Dayanidhi and putting him in the vehicle. We yelled at them to leave him.

The SI P. K. Swain raised at me the wooden stick he was carrying. When the wooden stick touched me, I fought back for my own self-defence. He caught hold of my arm in one hand and had the stick in the other. I was carrying my daughter and he threw her away from me. I fought even more and freed myself. I rushed into the house of Labanya Naik. His 11-year-old son and my daughter were frightened and crying loudly. They had hit my son also who bears a scar. They hit Labanya Naik’s son on his leg with a stick and he is limping now. They hurled abuses at my mother who was quietly watching everything.

I lost an ear-ring. As we sent them back, SI P. K. Swain tried coming back once again for me. We tried to do a video but they stopped the video. The vehicles had no police sign, siren or light. They did not seem like police vehicles. Nobody was in uniform but we could recognize only the SI P. K. Swain. From small children to the elderly, anybody in these villages can recognize him.

I am very disturbed. But I will continue to sit in the shop. Otherwise, who will feed us? I have two small children and this shop. This is our only livelihood.

We have committed no crime. If they arrest us, they can. I am ready to go to jail. I will take both my children with me. My husband Kartik Naik was taken away on November 20. He has not committed any crime.”

This is the goonda raj that is aiding mining companies and suppression of people’s power to dissent. This high-handedness against the local people is the continuation of reign of terror in place of rule of law. People have the right to resist any illegal action of any authority and the act of Dayanidhi Naik, Manju Naik and others who confronted the group is one such brave act.

In their opposition to bauxite mining by Vedanta, the people of the region have appealed to all levels of authorities. They are struggling for their land and livelihood and in the process facing incarcerations, fabricated cases and physical assaults by goondas and company agents. Police surveillance is affecting their sense of security, peace of mind and most importantly, all economic activities.

Such acts are a gross violation of the procedures established by law and other constitutional rights of the people. It is also torture against children.

Let us condemn these acts of violence on the people of Kashipur. Otherwise, such highhandedness will not only silence marginalized sections who are struggling for their mountains, forests and cultural identity, but society at large and “people like us” will also become subject to such whims and caprice of the custodians of law – the police.

Advocate Biswapriya Kanungo, Ranjana Padhi, Prafulla Samantara, Narendra Mohanty, Dr Randall Sequeira

Email: formountainsandforests@gmail.com