Police has been politicized-CPI

Some victims spoke of their grievances before media

Ludhiana: 14 March 2016: (Punjab Screen Bureau):

In the present days the situation of Law and order has deteriorated. Police which is supposed to be the guards of Public in general and labourers and dalit class, down trodden people in particular has become danger for them. Police has been politicized. Communist Party of India has been supporting and siding cause of the depressed and oppressed people who have been the target of unjustified excesses of police. False complaints are being registered against poor labourers and dalit people, extracting money from the pockets and thrashing them has become the daily routine matters of the local police. When the victims of excesses approach the police, lodging of the complaints are denied under the pressure of influential politicians. There is lot of hue and cry among the people because of this nexus between a section of the police, politicians and goonda elements.  The poor people are kidnapped and are forced to sign on the blank papers by the land mafia who grab the land of the poor people who have with hard labour saved a few pennies and are robbed of this. The mafia also indulge in throwing the goods of the household forcibly, they deny giving receipts for the rent. Even accident deaths are not taken care of properly by the police and proper investigation is not done. The victims of excesses by the criminals are illegally detained in the police stations. CPI activists have even met as deputation to the higher police officials but to no avail. In a press conference today some victims spoke of their grievances and no inquiries have been done into their complaints despite several deputations.  Twenty such cases were presented in the press conference which were from different areas of the city and different police stations. 

 lodging of the complaints are denied by the police to victims of excesses

Jobat Satyagrah: Fresh surveys from 20th January

Sat, Jan 11, 2014 at 5:33 PM

Alirajpur Collector withdraws Sec 151 cases against 40 adivasi oustees

Intense dialogue with Collector, SP, Addl. SP for 4 hours: Offer of Land and house plots, fishing rights, fresh surveys from 20^th January

 Jail Bharo Andolan in February, if promises not kept

New Delhi: 10^th January, 2014: (Punjab Screen Bureau): 

Surrounded and questioned by hundreds of adivasis for a second time yesterday, at the gates of the Collectorate, Alirajpur, the District Collector, Mr. N.P. Deheriya announced that he would immediately withdraw the charges of Sec 151, 107 and 116 (3) of Cr.P.C filed against 40 adivasis (including many elderly and 6 women) on the alleged and completely unsustainable ground of ‘breach of peace’ at the site of the Zameen Hak Satyagraha, Jobat.

Joined by Mr. Akhilesh Jha, SP and Mr. Saitaram Sastiya, Addl. S.P, the officials finally conceded that there was no disturbance to the peace by the oustees at Jobat. As the end of 4 hours long debate and dialogue with the Collector, the oustees and Medha Patkar convinced him that the occupation of government land at Jobat Farm was not in any way to disturb the peace of the locality, but was a measure undertaken, as a last resort, to assert the right to land and rehabilitation, which has been seriously affected, since more than a decade, when they have been facing the severe impacts of submergence. 

The following commitments were made by the Collector at the end of the dialogue:

Cases of preventive detention under Sec. 151 would be immediately withdrawn.

·        The State would facilitate the process of seeking bail in the FIR of 2011 and the charge sheet in the same has also been filed.

·        The R&R Officer to begin showing land to the oustees from the 20^th January and will ensure before this date that the land to be shown is cultivable and free of encroachment.

·        House plots will be offered in lieu of Rs. 20,000 given many years ago, without consent.

·        Surveys to be conducted in all the 13 villages once again to assess the actual and left our affected persons and properties.

·        Immediate registration of the proposed co-operatives of the displaced fish workers from Machliya, Umda, Bhiti and Chhota Khattali villages.

·        Assistance for irrigation facilities in the original villages by grant of 100% subsidized motor pumps.

The oustees also informed the authorities that the charges in the FIR of November, 2011 such as destruction of public property are completely false and fabricated and we shall fight this out in the court and also claim compensation for the losses caused due to crop destruction at the satyagraha.

The oustees asserted that this was the beginning of their struggle and expect the officials to keep up their promises, otherwise a massive Jail Bharo Andolan would start from February, 2014, with hundreds of women, children and cattle as well.  Later in the evening, many of the oustees, along with Medha Patkar went to the District Jail and met thesatyagrahis and also conveyed  to them the developments of the day. The 40 adivasi oustees shall be bailed out byMonday. A brief chronology of the events in enclosed.

Idibai            Surbhan Bhilala            Kamla Yadav                  Meera (09179148973)

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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

pertaining to the unlawful arrest of the Jobat Satyagrahis

24^th November, 2011: Hundreds of Sardar Sarovar and Jobat dam-affected adivasis, farmers who have not been rehabilitated as per law and judicial orders, begin their indefinite Zameen Hak Satyagraha at the Govt. Agricultural Farm, Dehedla, Jobat.

30^th November, 2011: Jobat Police register an FIR against ‘100 to 150 unknown persons’ under Sections 447, 147, 353, 332 of the IPC and also under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

19^th June, 2012: Dr. Afroz Ahmed, Director, Rehabilitation, Narmada Control Authority, visits the Satyagraha and engages in dialogue with the oustees. Dr. Afroz Ahmed also assured to raise the matter with the Rehabilitation Sub-Group, Delhi, after which a direction was issued by the Sub Group in its meeting on 12^th September, 2013 to the Govt. of M.P. to offer Government farm lands in rehabilitation.

21^st June, 2013: Physical Attack on the oustees at Jobat Satyagraha, in the presence of the SDM and Tehsildar, by the Farm Officer, his son and many outsiders. FIR registered, but no action taken.

12^th November, 2013: The administration consents for a temporary electricity connection to the oustees at the Jobat Farmland.

24^th December, 2013: Tehsildar, Jobat issues notices to 26 oustees, asking them to voluntarily remove themselves from the occupation / encroachment at the government land by 11 a.m. on the 27^th December, otherwise the encroachment would be removed with the help of police force and that the oustees would be responsible for any economic loss during the eviction.

26^th December, 2013: Oustees reply back to the notice dated 24-12-2013, narrating the sequence of events over the past 21/2 years and the legal grounds for their cultivation. The oustees also express willingness for a detailed dialogue with all the officials, but there was no response from the Tehsildar.

28^th December, 2013: Collector, Alirajpur visits the Satyagraha site and threatens the oustees to vacate the land. He also proposed that land would be provided to the oustees at Pangula (Jobat). The same day, two oustees are taken by the local revenue officials, but the said land is already under encroachment since long time and the encroachers are fiercely resistant to give away the lands.

31^st December, 2013: Tehsildar, Jobat issues second notice to the oustees, asking them to voluntarily remove themselves from the occupation / encroachment at the government land, otherwise the encroachment would be removed with the help of police force and that the oustees would be responsible for any economic loss during the eviction.

3^rd January, 2014: Oustees reply to the second notice of the Tehsildar, Jobat describing that the land shown at Pangula has been encroached and no other land was shown to them, thereafter.

5^th January, 2014: Collector deploys a huge contingent of police force and forcibly gets the adivasi oustees, including many elderly, 6 women and 2 children arrested. The tents were uprooted and all other belongings were seized. The oustees were arrested under provisions of Section 151, 107 and 116 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. All of them were taken to Alirajpur directly and were produced before the SDM, Alirajpur. They were later sent to the Alirajpur District Jail. The oustees were not produced before the SDM, Jobat and were also not lodged at the Jobat Jail ! The police prays the SDM to heavily fine the oustees, so that they do not repeat the ‘offence’ of occupation again!

6^th January, 2014: Oustees march to the office of the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Akhilesh Jha and question the arbitrary manner of arrests.  He was convinced that the contentious issue is lack of rehabilitation and that the police has no role to play, but had to act on the basis of the FIR. The oustees also submit a complaint under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 demanding legal action against all the concerned officers for arresting the adivasis, evicting them from the land, causing destruction of the standing crop at the Satyagraha and submergence of their lands and homes, without lawful rehabilitation. The same day, police file an application before the SDM stating that these 39 oustees are the same persons wanted in the FIR filed in 2011. The SDM grants permission and the oustees are ‘formally’ arrested inside the jail.

7^th January, 2014: Hundreds of oustees gherao the office of the Collector, Alirajpur. In his presence, the R&R Officer, agrees to show land to the Jobat oustees. Since no assurance regarding the unconditional release of the oustees was given, the protestors cautioned that the struggle would intensify after 3 days.

8^th January, 2014: Arrested oustees are produced before the Judicial Magistrate (Second Class), Jobat and sent back to the District Jail, Alirajpur.  Charge sheets / Challan is filed by the police. 

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Related Links

Jobat Satyagrahis stand vindicated

40 Narmada Adivasi Oustees in Jail since 4 days

Regularisation Fee and Property Tax

Thu, Oct 10, 2013 at 3:34 PM
Sanjha Morcha Demands Roll Back

Ludhiana:10 October 2013: (Rector Kathuria//Punjab Screen): The Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) and Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) organized a joint dharna today at the mini secretariat to protest against the levying of fees on the residents for regularization of their property in the un licensed colonies and property tax on all categories of property. Addressing the Dharna various speakers pointed out  that successive governments in the past nearly three decades have not launched any housing scheme in major towns and cities, which has led to the proliferation of unauthorized colonies in every part of the state. People had to buy land at exorbitant prices at the mercy of real estate business and private builders. The ruling parties have formed clique with the private business and therefore intentionally did not carve out any housing projects. Even the GLADA has been selling land through auctions thus doing business instead of service to the people. The present government has crossed all the limits and has done nothing even for the very low economic groups. They have done their best to promote the regular revenue sources of earning of the state for their personal gains. Roadways is a glaring example where the busses belonging to the CM and his kins are being given the prime routes at the prime time. This has substantially reduce earning of the state through the state roadways transport services. Government is selling its land to generate money. This is a mockery with the people of the state. The parties demanded immediate roll back of the regularization fees. Where was the government when the unauthorized colonies were mushrooming and people were shelving out their hard earned income to buy place for living, the speakers questioned? The speakers warned that they will continue the stir till the above mentioned taxes are rolled back.

The speakers include Com Kartar Singh Bowani-Distrtict Secretary CPI, Com Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon – Member State Committee CPI (M), Com Amarjeet Mattu – Distt. Sec. CPI M, Dr Arun Mitra & Com D P Maur- Asstt. Secretaries CPI Ludhiana, Com Ramesh Rattan– City Secretary CPI, S.Jaskirat Singh Sargodha and Sh.Rajesh Gandhi from PPP, Com Sukhminder Lotey – City Secretary CPI (M), Com Gulzar Gorea, Com Jagdish Chand, Com Raghbir Benipal, Com O P Mehta, Com. Vijay Kumar, Com Gurnam Sidhu, Com  Gurnam Gill and Com Kewal Singh Banwait, Com Randhir Singh, Com Jatinder Singh, Com Devraj, Com Surinder, Com Manjit Singh Boota.

Residents Oppose Regularization Fee and Property Tax

Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 3:52 PM

The ruling parties have formed clique with the private business 

Ludhiana 9 October 2013: (Punjab Screen Bureau): The  residents Chand Colony, Mehar Singh Nagar, Haibowal Khurd and colonies around strongly opposed the above mentioned taxes for regularization of their property in the un licensed colonies and property tax on all categories of property.  Addressing the Dharna various speakers pointed out  that successive governments in the past nearly three decades have not launched any housing scheme in major towns and cities, which has led to the proliferation of unauthorised colonies in every part of the state. People had to buy land at exorbitant prices at the mercy of real estate business and private builders. The ruling parties have formed clique with the private business and therefore intentionally did not carve out any housing projects. Even the GLADA has been selling land through auctions thus doing business instead of service to the people. The present government has crossed all the limits and has done nothing even for the very low economic groups. They have done their best to promote the regular revenue sources of earning of the state for their personal gains. Roadways is a glaring example where the busses belonging to the CM and his kins are being given the prime routes at the prime time. This has substantially reduce earning of the state through the state roadways transport services. Government is selling its land to generate money. Now the government has come up with the theory of colonies before 1995. This is a mockery with the people of the state.

 Those who addressed the gathering include Dr Arun Mitra, Com Randhir Singh, Com Gurnam Sidhu, Com Muni Lal, Sh.Satish Kumar, Sh.Dulare Lal, Sh.Rajinder Kumar, Sh.J.R.Sharma, Sh.Bhopal Singh and others.