Soni Sori (born c. 1975) is an Indian Adivasi (tribal) schoolteacher and human rights activist from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Arrested in 2011 on charges of acting as a go-between for Maoist rebels, she said she was tortured and sexually assaulted in police custody. She was later acquitted in most of the cases against her and has since campaigned for the rights of tribal people caught between the security forces and the Maoists. She received the Front Line Defenders Award in 2018.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Soni Sori |
| Born | c. 1975, Bade Bedma, Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, India |
| Community | Koya (Adivasi) |
| Occupation | Schoolteacher, activist |
| Party | Aam Aadmi Party candidate (2014) |
| Children | 3 |
| Honour | Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk (2018) |
Early Life
Sori was born in a village in Dantewada district into a family active in local politics; her father was a village headman. She trained as a teacher and ran a government residential school for tribal children at Jabeli.
Arrest
In September 2011 the police accused her and her nephew, the journalist Lingaram Kodopi, of carrying money from the Essar company to the Maoists. She fled to Delhi and was arrested there on 4 October 2011. In letters to the Supreme Court she said that in custody she had been stripped, given electric shocks and sexually assaulted on the orders of a senior police officer. A medical examination ordered by the court at a hospital in Kolkata found stones lodged in her body. The police denied the allegations, and the officer she named later received a gallantry medal, which drew protests from rights groups. Amnesty International called her a prisoner of conscience.
Release and Acquittals
The Supreme Court granted her bail in 2013 and 2014. Courts acquitted her in several of the cases filed against her for lack of evidence, and in 2022 a court in Dantewada acquitted her in the Essar case. Her husband, Anil Futane, who had also been jailed, died in 2013 soon after his release.
Activism
In 2014 she stood for the Lok Sabha from Bastar as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate and lost. She has travelled to remote villages to record complaints of killings, rape and false arrests and has led marches demanding inquiries. On 20 February 2016 unknown men threw a chemical substance on her face near Jagdalpur, causing burns; she recovered after treatment.
Recognition
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Soni Sori born?
Birth details: c. 1975, Bade Bedma, Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, India.
What is Soni Sori’s occupation?
Occupation: Schoolteacher, activist.
Featured image: Soni Sori speaks at the Bhopal Jan Utsav, November 2017. Photo by Chinchu.c, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
