Speaking to dna from her bed, Sori said she is just waiting for the scars to heal before she starts working again. "The attack has challenged me further. Now, I can't be stopped," Sori says mildly. A bandage covered the lower half of her face.
Soni Sori is in pain but seems unfazed. Her face has charred –her eyes swollen, yet resolute.
The tribal leader from the Maoist-hit Dantewada area of Chhattisgarh is admitted in the ICU of the Apollo hospital in Sarita Vihar for treatment. She was attacked two days ago by unidentified men in Geedam who rubbed a grease-like corrosive material on her face.
Speaking to dna from her bed, Sori said she is just waiting for the scars to heal before she starts working again. "The attack has challenged me further. Now, I can't be stopped," Sori says mildly. A bandage covered the lower half of her face.
Sori was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night. Her condition has not improved much since the even though the pain has reduced to some extent. Doctors treating her said she may also have to undergo a surgery depending on her condition in the next few days. They have not been able to identify the chemical used to attack her. In a relief to Sori, they had certified that she will not lose her eyesight.
Sori, also a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, has long been fighting against police excesses on tribals in Chhatisgarh. From October last year, she has brought to fore several cases of molestations, rapes against the local women and two recent instances of fake encounters in the Dantewada area allegedly by the security forces. The former school teacher had already faced arrest earlier and had alleged severe custodial torture in that tenure.
Early this month, Sori was warned and asked to slow down. However, she didn't give in to the threats, even as she apprehended the attacks when she was denied security. She had even tried filing a complaint on the Inspector General SRP Kalluri heading the police in Bastar, for allegedly letting his men continue atrocities on the local adivasis there, but had met with little success.
Now, she says, she has another reason not to give up. "The attack on me would not scare my people," a confident Sori says, adding that she knows very well under whose instructions were the attacks carried out.
She says that they will, rather be encouraged to continue their fight against the atrocities they are regularly subjected to, when they see Sori fighting undeterred.
She believes that Bastar will soon see a revolution. "People there have suffered for years. Now, they will start fighting back," Sori says.
Her party colleague and Chhattisgarh convenor Sanket Thakur says Soni, being educated, has some understanding of people's rights, unlike other tribals, who because of lack of education are easy to exploit.
Among all these, Sori, however, is worried about her daughter. Her attackers had have been intimidating her to stop highlighting the case of an alleged fake encounter that took place in Mardoom of Jagdalpur, else her 15-year-old daughter would be attacked. Sori's daughter stays in a hostel.
"I will continue my fight my cause, but I'm worried about my daughter. They should not harm her," Sori said.
Meanwhile, Delhi commission of women chief Swati Maliwal who visited Sori called for the retail sale of acid and tough punishment for people indulging in such crimes. She appealed to union home minister Rajnath Singh to provide security to her and punish her attackers.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Soni Sori")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}