According to the sources, a two day "National Conference on People's Struggles" was jointly organized at Gadchiroli town in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on the 22nd and 23rd of March 2015 by two prominent civil society organizations of Maharashtra, the Bharat Jan Andolan and the Akhil Bharatiya Adiwasi Mahasabha. The objective of the conference was to put up a united front of resistance of all progressive forces to show solidarity to all people's struggles across India and particularly struggles for water, forest and land rights of tribals living in Maharashtra. Around 250 representatives and social activists from 12 Indian states took part in this national conference. Students and teachers from 10 Indian universities and human rights organizations also participated in the peaceful and democratic event. A rally was also taken out on the 23rd of March from the Press Club to the main ground in Gadchiroli to register protest of the people against repressive policies of the current regime in rule in India. According to sources, all relevant documents required for organizing a peaceful democratic assembly of people were submitted and permission from Gadchiroli district police authorities had been obtained for this event. It was a peaceful, non-violent democratic event. But soon after the declaration of the event the Maharashtra police administration began to unleash a reign of terror by harassing and intimidating social activists, local citizens and tribal villagers. Police immediately launched awareness campaign on 22 and 23 March 2015 in various police stations and especially in Dhanora tehsil and started threatening social workers and activists of the organizations, asking them not to join the said conference and forcing people to join their awareness campaign against their wishes. Police also started seizing their personal two-wheelers, tractor trolleys and other vehicles. Police also ordered to stop plying public transport vehicles on 22 and 23 March 2015 in order to prevent the movement of social activists. From 21 March onwards, police erected check posts in various places of Gadchiroli districts and deployed armed security personnel and commandos of state police called C 60 (Commando 60) which was formed to combat Maoists or Naxals in the region. Police officials in all police stations were served strict orders to prevent people from participating in the conference. The organizers got calls on 22 March from various social activists informing them that their two wheelers and other vehicles carrying activists were being forcibly stopped and people were being detained at various check posts and Tribal villagers were being harassed and threatened. The vehicle which was sent to bring the cultural troupe was forcibly kept in Yerkad police station. Activists coming from Chhattisgarh state were detained at Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders. Social activists were forcibly asked to go back and were subjected to inhuman and cruel treatment at the hands of police. People were warned not to step out of their homes. In places like Yerkad, Murumgaon and Pendri people were prevented from using and boarding public transport buses. A large number of people, mainly human rights defenders numbering around 15,000 were prevented from participating in the conference and denied their right to freedom of assembly and of association. According to sources, after the conference summons are being sent to around 10,000 participants to report to their local police stations on the pretext of completing some administrative formalities. Verbal enquiries are being made and innocent tribal villagers are being harassed and tortured. A few days ago, in the Besiwada village of Etapalli block of district Gadchiroli, police commandos demolished the huts of tribal villagers and their bicycles and the rice that they had stored was thrown in to the adjoining river. Around 30 to 40 innocent tribal villagers were badly beaten by the commandos. These tribals work in the bamboo forest and do bamboo cutting work.