A DELEGATION from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) consisting of Central Secretariat member Nilotpal Basu, Central Committee member and leader of CPI(M) group in Lok Sabha P Karunakaran and CPI(M) member of Lok Sabha Badrudzza Khan visited Dingerheri village, Mewat in Haryana on September 21.  They were accompanied by former CPI(M) Haryana state secretary Inderjit Singh and Party state committee member Satbir Singh.

They had gone there to meet the families of the victims of the double murder and gang-rape of two girls from a poor landless family from the minority Muslim community in the village.

The delegation met the families of the victims and other villagers. They also interacted with sarpanchas of the village and adjoining villages. They also met the deputy commissioner as well as members of the Bar association of Nuh district as also the SP under whose jurisdiction the village falls.

Certain startling facts relating to the shocking episode were brought to the notice of the delegation.

The facts are:

·         A group of anti-social criminals stormed and attacked the sleeping family members of Zahuruddin at their farm residence during the intervening night of August 24 and 25, 2016. The landless Muslim family has been earning their livelihood by farming on someone’s land near the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KLP highway) in the fields of village Dingerheri in the Taoru subdivision of Mewat  district of Haryana, for the past few years.

·          A couple Ibrahim (38) and his wife Rashidan(35) were murdered. Zafaruddin, his wife Aisa and two sons Parvez (11) and Naved (8) were grievously injured. All were hit on the head. Zafaruddin is still admitted to the AIIMS trauma centre at New Delhi.

·         Two cousin girls (one minor) were brutally gang-raped. Gang-rape victims have made shocking revelations while narrating their agony before female journalists. They have since identified the four accused persons three of whom belong to neighbouring village and are from the Ahir community. The accused reportedly told the rape victims that they were being punished for eating beef. They also urinated in the mouth of victim girls when they demanded water for drinking. From this it is clear that it was not crime of ordinary criminal nature but a most outrageous and heinous violent assault perpetrated with communal motivation. The severity and magnitude of the brutality involved here indicates a persecution with hate and vengeance against an imagined enemy and in this case the poor landless family is targeted as they are more vulnerable.

·         The visiting Party team was informed that two of the four arrested accused have been found to have active RSS connections as revealed from the contents of their Facebook accounts.

·         Above communal angle finds further credibility if one just has a cursory look at the way the police and the BJP government have dealt with this horrible crime. Serious loopholes have been deliberately left at almost each and every step beginning from filing the FIR, adding of relevant and appropriate sections of the IPC, recording of victims statements, postmortem reports, interrogation of the accused etc.

·         It is shocking that the section 302 pertaining to murder was added only a week after the crime was committed. Initially it was made out to be a case of 460 IPC ie, of trespassing for dacoity etc. Both the gang-rape victims were taken to Nuh (the district headquarter) for recording their statements even as two dead bodies were still lying behind. No one from the family was asked to accompany the girls. They were kept in an isolated room and even water was not served.

·         The time of postmortem of both the deceased is exactly the same as entered in the report. Owing to such attitude of the police, local administration and the government, anger spread in the entire area which was witnessed in a huge congregation of people belonging to all communities on September 1.

·          All advocates of the bar association also took part and promised to provide legal assistance.  It was only due to this pressure that the chief minister accepted most of the genuine demands including handing over of the case to CBI, providing government jobs to the next of the kin of the  deceased, providing financial assistance to rape victims and punishment to police officers for gross mishandling of the whole case. But most of the assurances are yet to be implemented.

·         A counter mobilisation of a particular community was managed in support of the arrested accused and a ruling BJP legislator attended it. This was a sinister move to incite communal passions in the area.

·         This apart, just before the Eid festival, tensions were created by collecting biriyani samples from road-side vendors and hurriedly declaring it positive for beef content. On September 17, chief minister made a highly objectionable public statement calling the Dingerheri gang rape and beef Biryani episodes as trivial and small issues over which he did not give much attention. In this situation it seems that the state government and its administration continue to be indifferent and communally biased. It appears to show no regard for the rights of citizens and its accountability towards law of the land.

It is a patent case involving not only brutal atrocities and trauma on minority poor family with clear cut communal motivation but also gross violation of human rights of citizens.

In the light of the above the delegation demands:

·         Provision of immediate relief and security to the families of the victims who continue to live under constant threat and trauma.

·         While handing over the papers to the CBI the administration should give a note saying that certain infirmities have been committed during the investigation.

·         A complete ban on cow vigilante groups should be imposed immediately.

CPI(M) Delegation Visits Bijnor

Demands Quick Action and Proper Compensation

A DELEGATION of the CPI(M) visited Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh on September 21. Subhashini Ali, Polit Bureau member and D P Singh, state secretariat member along with district secretary Balwant Singh and district secretariat member Rampal Singh visited those injured in the shocking armed attack on a poor Muslim family by a mob of Jats from a neighbouring village on September 16 in which three men - two brothers and a cousin - were killed on the spot.

On the 16th morning young Yasmeen was harassed by some Jat men when she was going to school. Her brother intervened, things calmed down and both of them returned to their home in Peda village. Within 20 minutes about a 100 young Jats climbed onto the roofs of the houses that looked down on the poor huts of Yasmeen’s family and started shooting at the people living there.

Aminuddin, Ehsan (brothers) and Sarfaraz (cousin) were killed on the spot and more than 14 family members were injured, some seriously. The injured were being pressurised to leave the hospital despite their state but after CPI(M) leaders intervened this was prevented.

Six accused had been arrested. For the last two days however three more names have been revealed by eye witnesses: Aishwarya and Arun Kabadi both BJP leaders and Sonu the latter's gunner. The district magistrate told the delegation that these reports are being taken very seriously.

Fortunately the situation has not developed into a major communal conflagration. But that was the intention. Women, young boys and girls are among the injured.

Jharkhand: Ramgarh Firing Unmasks Inhuman Face of BJP Govt

Prakash Viplav

THE police firing on innocent villagers and displaced people, killing two of them, in Gola of Ramgarh district has exposed the BJP government in Jharkhand. Police opened indiscriminate firing on the villagers who have been demanding proper compensation for their land acquired by Inland Power Ltd at Bariatu and employment.

Around 200 acres of land has been acquired by M/s Inland Power Ltd, owned by Nabin Sabain of Kolkata. The rayats were given Rs 1,500 per decimal for agricultural land in 2010-11. The management did not implement its commitment regarding employment to the displaced villagers and construction of road, hospital, school, supply of water and electricity. Due to ash pollution of the plant, a wide area of agricultural land has been severely affected. Ash and emission of poisonous gases are affecting social life of villagers and polluting water of adjacent Senegara and Bhairabi rivers. The management is also violating all statutes and not paying proper wages and ESI benefit to the workers.

A social organisation, Nagarik Chetna Manch, has been raising the people’s issues for the past year and organising the villagers. The villagers approached the management for settlement of their grievances several times. Finally, the district administration intervened and convened a tripartite meeting at 11:00 AM on August 29. Accordingly, the villagers in thousands reached the gate of the plant and waited for hours together. As proper response was not given regarding holding the meeting, the villagers went to the entrance where water is supplied from the river Senegara.

Police resorted to lathi-charge and indiscriminate firing on the villagers without any warning. 32-year-old Ramlakhan Mahato and Dasrath Nayak (45) were killed in police firing. Several people including onlookers, sustained bullet injuries. Seven injured are being treated at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi and the rest are undergoing treatment in private medical centres. The role of the police and the district administration was surprising. The cause of the death of Ramlakhan and Dasrath was recorded as ‘snake bite’ and ‘road accident’. Rs 10,000 each was offered to their families as compensation. However, on the face of strong protest by the villagers and blockade of road with the bodies, the cause of deaths was recorded as firing.

A delegation of CPI(M) -- consisting of  state secretary G K Baksi; members of state secretariat Rajendra Singh Munda, Praful Linda and Sufal Mahato; and district Committee leaders Bhisma Deo Munda, Arun Mahto and Lobin Mahato -- visited the members  of the families of the deceased. They explained the horrific role of the administration which worked as the agent of the owner of the plant. The way police resorted to indiscriminate firing on the peacefully assembly of villagers without warning has surprised the people. The delegation has assured the villagers that the Party will stand by them and extend all possible help.

A delegation of Left parties -- state secretaries of CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) and RSP and leaders of SUCI((C) and Marxist Coordination Committee -- met the injured in hospital in Ranchi after holding a joint meeting and press conference at the CPI(M) State Centre on August 31.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat visited Gola on September 9 and met the families of the victims. The villagers have been living amidst an environment of constant fear due to threats by the police authorities. Karat assured the villagers of every possible help to them by CPI(M). Later in the day, a delegation of Left parties, led by Karat, met the Governor, seeking her intervention in the matter.

The delegation demanded a judicial probe headed by a sitting judge of high court into the firing incident; compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the deceased and proper treatment of the injured; execution of the agreement with the villagers prior to the acquisition of their lands; withdrawal of all false cases instituted against innocent villagers; removal of police officials of Rajrappa and Gola to ensure an impartial investigation into the case.