SINCE the days of spontaneous outburst against abduction and killing of a 5-year child Golu, Muzaffarpur has been witnessing several such incidents. This apart, local tyrants, feudal elements and upstarts oppressing the poor are increasingly becoming targets of people’s wrath. People’s prerogative to take on the police or criminals against any atrocity or outrage has earned widespread social recognition.
This has definitely helped in spreading our Party’s influence. For instance, on 23 April a feudal lord Lakhindra Shahi had hit Sita Devi, wife of Bilat Paswan, on some insignificant pretext. An upset Bilat Paswan went to Lakhindra Shahi’s house to register a mild protest. Taking exception to this, Lakhindra Shahi next day came to Bilat Paswan’s house with 40-50 goons and not finding him, caught his father Sakal Paswan, took him to a nearby library and after thoroughly thrashing the old man handed over his body to the police branding him as a dacoit. No medical treatment was offered to Sakal in the Police Station and later he died in the police custody on the same day. The police sent his body to the hospital and claimed that he had died on the way to hospital. The corpse reached the village the next day on 25 April. In the meantime the news of this brutal killing had spread everywhere and after the body of Sakal Paswan was burnt at around 3 pm, around 5,000 people belonging to dalit and backward castes assembled in Shahbazpur. They ransacked the house of Lakhindra Shahi while all others involved in Sakal Paswan’s killing took flight from the village. People from Shahbazpur came to our Party office and an investigation team, comprising Party, Khet Mazdoor Sabha and AISA leaders, was sent to the site on 26 April. In contrast to other parties’ routine proposal of forming peace committee, our Party demanded immediate arrest of culprits, proper compensation to the family of the deceased, arrangement for their safety and other pro-poor measures.
In Itaha village of Sakra PS an underage girl Rita was abducted on 16 April. Next day when the people informed the police, the latter registered it as a case of lost person and did nothing save sending the report to other police stations. Party activists mobilized the people for demonstration before the DM to protest this police inaction. In the meantime Rita’s badly mutilated corpse was discovered in a maize field. Bursting with anger the people encircled the police posse that came to take away the corpse. Roads were blocked and wheels of police vehicles deflated. The people declared that the police would be allowed to go only after the DM and SP arrive at the site. Even after 9 hours no senior official came. Middlemen of course tried to mediate but nobody listened to them. Lastly the DM sent a promise to nab the criminals soon, and the police were allowed to go, still the corpse was not handed over to them. Next day the people carrying the corpse blocked Pusa-Muzaffarpur Road. The Magistrate from the District Headquarters had to reach the spot to receive the corpse. Women including ward councillors played an active role in this struggle.
Enraged at this dressing down, the police lodged false cases on 6 Party activists including AISA leader Kumar Gautam and Khet Mazdoor Sabha leader Shankar Paswan. However the morale of Party activists and the masses remains high and the movement to get the killers of Rita arrested and withdrawal of false cases clamped over Party activists and leaders is going on in full swing.
In another incident, a feudal lord Kameshwar Mishra of Aathar village in Bochaha Block, owner of over 100 acres of land, hit a poor woman Laxmi on 18 April 2003. Her husband Prahlad Paswan came to Khet Mazdoor Sabha. The KMS got the case against Kameshwar Mishra registered with the police but when police took no action, a historic mass meeting was held on 29 January at Angrezi Kothi of the landlord, in which CPI(ML) District Secretary of Muzaffarpur Comrade Meena Tiwary was also present. Musclemen of landlords tried to disturb the meeting but ultimately they were chased away. At the conclusion of the meeting people took out a 5-km long procession and blocked NH Darbhanga Road for hours, until the administration promised to arrest Kameshwar Mishra within three days. This promise too failed and the people held a dharna at the district headquarters. First the Collector refused to talk with the delegation. However, when the people gheraoed him, he came to senses and after the talks, sent a DSP to confiscate the movable property of Kameshwar in case he evades his arrest. All this punctured the arrogance of Kameshwar and he sent an offer to surrender before the Party. On the basis of conditions earlier publicized by the Party, Kameshwar publicly apologised on 16 February at the same Angrezi Kothi and had to sign a written bond to pay proper wages, with a promise never to repeat the mistake of beating an agrarian labour.
It is from the same Kameshwar Mishra that the Land Revenue Department of Bihar Govt. under Minister Ramai Ram has purchased 7.5 acres of land and built Ramai Nagar to resettle 176 families. On the occasion of inaugural ceremony of Ramai Nagar, held on 4 May this year, Ramai Ram appointed Kameshwar’s son Sanjay Mishra as Block President of Ambedkar Sena!
Thus the difference between the ruling party and the Opposition is getting obliterated day by day. This was one reason why despite pooling all the resources the participation of common people was miserable in Laloo’s Lathi Rally. The disillusionment among the people must be harnessed to further open up doors of people’s own initiative and build on the spreading attraction for our Party among the poor.
– Meena Tiwari/Rambalak Sahni