... On October 15, 2023 armed police and paramilitary personal positioned themselves in the main roads leading to villages known to oppose the proposed mining project and roads were monitored by company-sponsored goons and a few local village youths. They seemed to have a list of names of media persons and political agents whom they should allow into the villages and used slang and rough language to intimidate and send back anyone outside the list. On October 16, 2023 women from Banteji village were beaten up by the police when they were going to attend the public hearing.

... The Villagers from the Kashipur Block are indigenous people who were protesting against the proposed mining project. They were going to attend the public hearing to speak their grievances against the proposed mining project. We believe the attack by police and paramilitary personnel on the indigenous women human rights defenders is an act of reprisal against them as EHRDs. This amounts to a violation of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and freedom of speech and expression...