On 5 August 2023 two activists, Krushna Sikaka and Bari Sikaka from the organisation Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS), were abducted by police after visiting Lanjigarh haat in the Kalahandi district of India. They had met with villagers to organise activities for World Indigenous Day on 9 August.

On 6 August 2023, 9 members of NSS were accused of unlawful assembly for protesting against the abduction of Krushna Sikaka and Bari Sikaka. These defenders are Ladda Sikaka, Drenju Krushka, Manu Sikaka, Samba Huikia, Lingaraj Azad, Gobinda Bag, Upendra Bag, British Naik and Lenin Kumar.

On 16 August 2023 two other members of NSS, Dhanful Majhi, Sitaram Majhi and Anil Nayak, were arrested.

NSS is led by the members of the affected communities who have been resisted for two decades against bauxite mining in Odisha, including proposed projects by Vedanta Resources, Adani Group and Hindalco. In April 2024, the Resource Centre invited Hindalco Industries, Vedanta Resources, and Adani Group to respond to its "People under pressure: Human rights defenders & business in 2023" report, which includes information about attacks on HRDs opposing bauxite mining in Odisha. All three companies responded and denied the allegations.