Visakhapatnam: Ten years have gone by, but the memories of the infamous Vakapalli gangrape incident continue to haunt the tribals of this tiny village in Nurmathi panchayat in G Madugula mandal. Not just the trauma, even justice has eluded them so far as they keep knocking every available door for redemption.

Eleven Kondh tribe women were allegedly gangraped by the elite anit-naxal force Greyhound cops on the morning of August 20 of 2007 in the village. The incident rocked not only the state but the entire nation as rights activits and civic groups took to the streets, demanding justice for the victims.

The tiny village with around 75 families in between the Nurmathi-Maddigaruvu stretch, a strong base of Maoists, had witnessed the heavily armed personnel on the horrifying day. Even before the sunrise, around 21 security personnel in two groups entered the village to nab a militia member Chandu. They allegedly beaten the women before committing the rape on 11 women, the people’s organisations alleged.

On condition of anonymity, one of the resident of the village said that security forces showed their brutal force on that day. “They did not listen to anyone and tried to search all houses. Suspecting that some militants were taking shelter in the village, they barged into some of the homes. When the men of the village had gone to the farm fields on the hillocks, the police force entered the village and created mayhem,” the villager said. The villagers still live in fear, talking in muffled voices over the brutality of security forces that fateful day.

The incident came to light around 3 pm when then Paderu MLA Lake Raja Rao of BSP was informed by tribals. The MLA took the media personnel to the village and also brought the victims to the Paderu sub-collector. The process of conducting the mandatory medical tests was also delayed by the cops to circumvent the probe, it was alleged.

Of the 11 victims, two – Vantala Chittemma died in 2011 at the age of 46 years due to ill-health while Pangi Barso (32) died after she was bitten by a snake in the same year. The others do not venture out from the village.

When contacted, top police bosses in the district say that the matter is pending in the court and they would not comment. On condition of anonymity, a police officer told TOI that Vakapalli incident was a strategic move by the Naxals to restrict the cops from undertaking combing operations.

