THE massacre of 10‘Gond’ tribals in Umbha village in Sonbhadra district of UP is not a spontaneous incident. It reveals the deeply drenched feudal fabric of our system, where the State has helped the influential upper caste against the poor tribals. The CPI(M) team that visited the site of the massacre found this telling tale of the incident.

On July 17, Yagyadutt, the panchayat president of the village along with Komal Singh, his relative led a team of 100-armed people and came on 32 tractors. They went on a rampage firing indiscriminately on the agricultural fields.  This led to death of 10 tribals and over 25 got seriously injured. This massacre shook the entire state.

The attack was pre-mediated and planned to ensure that the tribals who have possession on 600 bighas of land and are tilling it since many decades are ousted from it. On July 19, despite all restrictions the CPI(M) team reached Umbha village. The land was given to the tribals by Raja Badhal to do the plough. The land in question was being tilled by the tribals since last five generations. Had law of the land been implemented in the past, the tribals should have become owner of this land. But this was not done as the administration and the rule, mainly governed by the feudal families did not allow that to happen.

However, in 1955 the land was transferred in the name of Adarsh Cooperative Society fraudulently by Maheshwari Narayan Sinha who hailed from Bihar. The tribals registered their objections to it and the case is still pending in the high court. In between, the society was also collecting a levy of Rs 500 per bigha from the tribals every year; apparently it continues to collect this levy. The tribals were assured that the society land cannot be sold. However, Maheshwari Sinha got 148 bighas of land transferred to his daughter. Amazingly the same land was again transferred by his daughter to her daughter-Kiran Kumar (Maheshwari’s granddaughter). Kiran’s husband Bhanuprasad in an IAS officer and the clout he possessed and used it for the registration of the land does not require much to guess.

In October 2017, Kiran Kumar transferred the land to Yagyadutt for Rs 2 crore. This shows not just the trail of events but also how the tribals were exploited and how the strong feudal families used the government apparatus to their benefit. The combination of Yagyadutt and Komal Singh has turned into a mafia and already they have been able to possess land in four villages. They get registration for one bigha land and encroach upon 100 bighas. Not just that, they have even encroached on the dam constructed in the village for irrigation purpose. Even the police and other administrative officers work according to their wish and fancies. On July 17 when the incident took place the police reached late by an hour. It is alleged that the police were in connivance with the attackers.

The CPI(M) team visited the district hospital and met many injured patients. Ramadheen, was shot in chest and hand, his brother and mother are both admitted in the same hospital. His younger brother and his wife were killed in the firing. He told the team that the hospital was also having an apathetic attitude towards them. He said when they were brought to the BHU hospital they were kept in the trauma centre, but the next day they were forced out. They had to travel 150 km and come to their native place where the police got them admitted in the district hospital.

The BJP rule has emboldened the land mafia and other gangs of the region that are responsible for illegal possession of land against the tribals.  The CPI(M) has demanded a compensation of at least Rs 25 lakhs each to the families of those killed, Rs 10 lakh to the grievously injured and Rs 5 lakh to the other injured in the attack. The team has also asked the government to ensure that registration of the land in the names of Yagyadutt and Adarsh Society may be cancelled and ‘pattas’ may be given to the tribals. The tribals may be given ration for at least three months so that they can sustain themselves. A government job should be provided to a member of the families who were killed in the massacre.

The CPI(M) team comprised Hiralal Yadav, UP state secretary, Dinanath Singh, state secretariat member, Anuj Pratap Singh, district secretary of Mirzapur, Arvind Kumar(advocate), Anil Kumar Singh and Bachalal.