Concern over the use of encounters as a method to address insurgency

By A Representative

On January 16, 2025, during an anti-Naxal operation, 12 individuals, reportedly including several members of the Adivasi community, lost their lives in an encounter involving over 4,000 paramilitary personnel. The Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM), a coalition of various organizations, has released a statement condemning the incident and calling for greater accountability in such operations.

The forum has expressed concerns over the use of encounters as a method to address insurgency, citing risks to democratic principles and due process. Based on the reported disparity in weaponry and the strength of state forces, FACAM has questioned the necessity of lethal action, suggesting that arrests could have been made to allow legal proceedings to determine culpability.

The organization has also criticized the practice of celebrating such operations as successes, warning against the normalization of extrajudicial measures. According to FACAM, such actions risk undermining the rule of law and fostering authoritarian tendencies.

FACAM has urged media outlets to bring their concerns into the public domain and emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in state-led operations.

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