Barkagaon
Police Firing: Surgical Strike on Farmers by BJP Government in Jharkhand:-Prakash
Viplav
The Barkagaon Police firing
incident resulted in the death of four Mahtab Alam (29 years) and three
students Ranjan Kumar (16 years), AbhishekRoy (18 years) and Pawan Shaw(18
years) and leaving 50 others injured including grievously injured Vikash Kumar
Mahato and Nezam Mianis indicative of the barbaric designs of the BJP-led
government in Jharkhand and its intentions of serving the interests of the
corporates at the cost of the toiling masses of the state.
On the 1st of October
2016, Police resorted to unprovoked firing on the agitating peasants who were
demanding proper compensation for their lands which were acquired for mining
operations to supply coal to NTPC power plants. The peasants were at “kafan Satyagraha”
under the leadership of local congress MLA Nirmala Devi for the last 16 days.
The police arrested Nirmala Devi from the dharnaplace early in the morning at
5AM on 1/10/2016, which was resisted by villagers and police opened indiscriminate firing on the villagers
without warning.
A team of CPI(M) led by State
Secretary G.K.Baksi comprising Prakash Viplav,Ram Chandra Thakur,
SufalMahato ( State Secretariat
Members), Birendra Kumar (State Committee Member) & Ganesh Kumar VermaDist
Secretary Hazaribagh rushed to the affected villages of Chirudih, Dadhikala,
Sindwari&Sonbarsaand met the family members of the victims.This was the of 1st fact-finding team from any political
party. An atmosphere gloom and terror loomed over the villages. The team assured the villages
that the party would extended all possible help to them. It was observed that
the villagers were hesitant to open their mouths about the incident out of fear
of backlash by the police administration. Later on repeated insistence and
assurances the team was able to get their accounts. The villagers said that
police arrived at the site of dharna at 05:00 a.m. on the day of firing and began
assaulting the sleeping villagers and arrested the local legislator. When the
villagers protested police resorted to unprovoked firing. It is noteworthy that
the police while firing aimed at the head, chest and upper portion of the body
of the protestors, which lays light on their intentions. The team also met the
injured at the HazaribaghSadar Hospital.
NTPC is to start three units
of a thermal power plant at Tandwa in
neighbouring Chatra district, and as a result Pakri-Barwadih Mines project is
being run in North Karnpura Coal Block to meet the requirements of the power
plant. NTPC has hired out the mining project to TriveniSainik Mining, a private
mining company. There is a requirement of 8055 acres of land for the project
out of which 4043 acres of land has already been acquired. The land acquired
contains forest land, wasteland, green-land &govt.owned land in addition to
large tracts of cultivated land most of which is multi-crop land.
As a result of the acquisition
8745 families have been displaced and out of them only 2614 have received
compensation. Most of the rayats in the area were against acquisition of their
lands, which has resulted in stiff resistance being put up by them. There have
been several instances of clashes between villagers and police in the past.
The incidence of police firing
clearly indicates the pro-corporate, anti-farmer, anti-people stance of the BJP
led Raghubar Das government in the state. Hardly a month ago, two farmers were
killed in Gola in Ramgarh District in protests against forcible acquisition of land.
This incident is a bead in the chain of assaults being unleashed by the BJP led
Raghuvar government against the rayats of the state to forcibly acquire their
land in pursuit of neo-liberal policies that would serve the interests of the
bourgeoisie. In the name of ‘Momentum Jharkhand’ the mineral wealth of the
state is being exposed to corporate loot.
Left parties in the state have
severely condemned the firing incident. On the 1st of October,
protest marches were organised by CPI(M) and other left parties in most of the
districts in the state. On 2nd October in a joint press conference
of left and secular parties was organised at Hazaribagh, where the entire
incident was condemned. A delegation of left and secular democratic parties met
the Governor of Jharkhand on 5th October and demanded a High Level
Judicial Enquiry into the matter, Proper compensation to the displaced and the
victims and stern action against those responsible for the firing incident. Meanwhile
a delegation of left parties was stopped by the Police from entering
Barkagaon on 4th October at the behest of the State Government. The
leaders sat down on adharna at the spot
where they were stopped. Left parties would organise a Sankalp Sabha at
Barkagaon on 17th October and a State wide bandh call has been given
on 24th October,2016.
The Jharkhand High Court has suo-moto interfered and asked
the DGP and Chief Secretary of the state to submit their reports before the
court.
The
Barkagaon incident has increased resentment against BJP rule in the state and
the left has to channelize the resentment to intensify struggles against the attacks
unleashed by the Government on peasants and the toiling masses of the state.
On
3rd October,2016, Com. Brinda Karat, PBM, while addressing a Press Conference
at Ranchi emphatically questioned“Indian
Army while making a surgical strike against terrorist in POK accomplished a patriotic task , But,
What kind of patriotism Raghuvar Govt is trying to preach by making surgical
strike on farmers and students of Jharkhand?.”
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