A human rights body has on Friday filed an appeal with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urging its intervention and probe into alleged atrocities committed by the Jharkhand police.
MLA of the Barkagaon constituency Nirmala Devi has been missing since October 1, when the police had attempted detaining her and have opened fire on the villagers.
In the wee hours of October 1, the police opened fire on the adivasis of Barkagaon village in Hazaribagh district, killing five persons and injuring several others. Three of the five deceased were 19-years-old. The adivasis have been protesting against the forcible acquisition of their agricultural land by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
Firing was allegedly opened on the protesters as they tried to oppose the police force, which had reportedly come to detain the local MLA and the leader of the protesters Nirmala Devi at around 4 am in the morning. She has been missing since the incident.
The police claim she is ‘absconding’, as two FIRs have been registered against her. However, her husband and former minister in the state government Yogender Shau has accused the police of abducting her.
The appeal for intervention submitted by Kirity Roy, national convener, Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI) has put forth several demands in the appeal, listed as following:
1. A thorough and independent investigation over the recent incident of killing and injuring by police action
2. Direction for compassionate hearing over the grievances of peasantry of that area
3. Direction for withdrawal of all covert and overt restrictions by district administration to visit the place of occurrence
4. Immediate withdrawal of criminal cases against agitating people
5. Direction for immediate recovery of Ms. Niramala Devi, local MLA
As Sabrangindia had reported earlier, the Barkagaon area has been cordoned off by seven battalions of armed police, Rapid Action Force and paramilitary personnel. Section 144 is in force and what is happening inside the area is not fully known.
In the appeal submitted to NHRC, it is noted that former chief minister Babulal Marandi, former MP from Hazaribagh, Bhuneshwar Mehta of the Communist Party of India, Rashtriya Janata Dal state president Gautam Sagar Rana and Janata Dal (United) district president Bateshwar Mehta were stopped by the district administration from visiting the area on October 4.
It also reports that hundreds of families have fled their homes after the police and paramilitary forces carried out a door-to-door search of houses in six villages in the mining area, in Chapakala, Chipakhurd, Sonbarsa, Churchur, Arahar and Nagri.
As per the appeal, BhimsenTuti, SP, Hazaribagh said that the police had detained 10 residents on suspicion of having attacked the police but has allowed nine of them to go on October 4. He claimed, “We have video evidence of protesters attacking the circle officer (CO) and the additional superintendent of Police, and are looking for residents who we suspect to have attacked the police on October 1.”
However, the appeal to the NHRC maintains that medical details of the injured police officers could not be furnished by the department.
On the contrary, a fact-finding team has noted that according to the medical reports, the injured received bullets which were fired from a long distance – approximately 100-300 metre. It is evident from this that none were in a position to attack the police.
It has been also alleged that after the gunshot, policemen dragged the bodies to the Panchayat Bhawan and kept it in a vehicle there, without arranging for any medical attention. The villagers claim to have heard screams for three-four hours before the injured succumbed to death.
The report submitted to the NHRC says that “the demonstrators are still shocked at what they claim was the excessive use of force by the administration.” One of the villagers is quoted in the report as saying: “We were on a peaceful protest and we were not obstructing any officials for two weeks and were even talking to the officials. Why did the CO try to attack us at 4 am? Why did he attack and abduct Nirmala Devi in the early hours of morning? What sudden pressure were they under?” He added that police force had occupied Chirudih school building for the last three months, interrupting classes there.
The farmers have been opposing land acquisition of their multi-crop farmland for coal mines allotted to National Thermal Power Corporation since 2004. They had been on a sit-in protest near a mining site in Chiru Barwadih village for two weeks when the police tried to break their protest on October 1.
Background
On October 11, 2004, NTPC was allocated mines by the Government of India; the Pakri Barawadih coal block in Hazaribagh district. An estimated 1600 MT of coal lies beneath the allocated land. The total land area was 12,000 acres, covering 40 villages and 2,500 acres of forest land.
The affected farmers have been opposing the land acquisition since then. The fertile lands yielding multiple-crops are the sole source of livelihood for the farmers. They are therefore unwilling to give up their land at any cost.
On January 6, 2007, the government announced that a Public Hearing would take place at 11 am to resolve the issue. Instead, the administration stealthily held the Public Hearing the previous night at 11 pm. When the farmers came to know of this, some of them rushed to the venue of the illegal hearing to voice their total opposition to the proposed land acquisition.
Predictably, false cases were filed in the courts against some of the farmers for this opposition. Shockingly, the outcome of the Public Hearing that was put out by the government showed that the farmers had given their consent which was untrue. The harassment of the opposing farmers continued.
An interesting event took place on June 23, 2011 when the Chatti Bariatu coal block was de-allocated by the government of India. But in November 2011 the Hazaribagh district administration transferred the said coal block back to the NTPC!
Under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, 70% consent was required from the Gram Sabha which procedure was also not followed. Also, under the Forest Rights Act passed in 2006, acquiring of Forest Land laid down certain conditions which, too, protesting farmers have alleged, the NTPC did not follow.
It was in these circumstances that earlier this year the NTPC claimed to have acquired 3,000 acres of forest land and 435 acres of farmers' land and decided to go ahead with the mining project within the area that fell under forest land. Several farmers and the local leadership opposed this, for which reason many farmers and some leaders were even jailed for over two months or more. Criminal cases are still pending in courts even as the harassment continues, it is alleged.