Villagers belonging to the Ho tribe in a rebel-hit area of Jharkhand, who had accused security personnel and Maoists of committing excesses, have requested the cooperation of the police and the civil administration in celebrating Maghe Porob, their biggest festival.

Gram Sabha of Adivasis of Anjedbeda village under Pandavir panchayat in Khuntpani block of West Singhbhum district has written a letter to West Singhbhum superintendent of police Ashutosh Sekhar, deputy commissioner Ananya Mittal and Jharkhand home secretary Rajeev Arun Ekka with the request. A copy of the letter is with The Telegraph.

“The letter mirrors the fear prevalent among the villagers of the excesses committed by the security forces in the name of conducting anti-Maoist operations in the village,” said a member of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, a coalition of organisations to defend people’s rights and democratic values in the state.

The mahasabha has also tweeted the letter of the gram sabha and tagged chief minister Hemant Soren and the Mittal, seeking their intervention.

The letter also underscores how villagers are harassed by the security forces and falsely accused of being Maoists.

“Even while doing normal work in villages and forests... the security forces unnecessarily question and threaten the villagers. Along with the rice to be eaten during the festival, more quantity of it is used to make fermented liquor, which is consumed during the festive season. But when the villagers bring even 50kg of rice, they are stopped and harassed in various ways by the paramilitary force alleging that they are carrying ration for rebels,” the letter alleges.

The villagers said the festival would start on Tuesday and requested the police to allow them to celebrate it without any hindrance.

“In the festival, there is worship in the forest, dancing and singing take place throughout the night as guests come at late hours. There are visits to each other’s houses throughout the week. Ever since the CRPF camp has been forcibly set up in the village and the anti-Maoist campaign is being carried out, there is an atmosphere of fear and repression in the village as villagers are being labelled as Maoists and tortured,” the letter adds.

The letter also alleged that outsiders had started an illegal business of foreign liquor in the village after the setting up of the CRPF camp.

The villagers have also complained of police inaction in a case of molestation of a minor at Chiriyabeda village by the CRPF personnel in November last year.

The CRPF and the district police conduct continuous combing operations in West Singhbhum. Several instances of people and security personnel being injured in IED blasts have also been reported in the district.

West Singhbhum SP Sekhar said the police were always ready to cooperate with the villagers in celebrating the festival.

“We also rush to help the villagers during emergencies and recently rushed a pregnant woman to the health centre during odd hours,” the SP said.