Local village activists of the CPI(ML) including elected mukhiya Ramdas Minz were leading a protest at Badgad village in Bhandaria block in Garhwa district, demanding that the Bhandaria BDO meet them and address their grievance over the site chosen for a health centre.
The Incident
A landmine blast by Maoists claimed the lives of several policemen who were accompanying the BDO to meet the agitating villagers. The Maoists also abducted Comrade Sushma Mehta, elected Zila Parishad Chairperson from the CPI(ML) and CPI(ML)’s Jharkhand State Committee member Comrade Akhtar Ansari who were on their way to the protest site, along with Comrade Sushma’s security guard and the driver of their car.
Shamefully, instead of making efforts to rescue the abducted CPI(ML) leaders and others, the Jharkhand police falsely implicated the CPI(ML) in the landmine blast, alleging that the roadblock and protest were being held by the party as a ploy to ‘lure’ the policemen into the Maoist trap. In his press conference, the DGP even refused to acknowledge that the abduction had taken place. Several CPI(ML) activists included the Badgad mukhiya were tortured and beaten up in custody in the name of ‘interrogations’ to establish ‘links’ with Maoists.
The Maoists owned up the abduction, and subsequently three of the hostages including both CPI(ML) leaders were released on January 24, though the guard continued to remain a hostage to the Maoists for much longer.
Protests Met With Severe Repression
On 22 January, protests were organised all over Palamu, in which more than thousand people took to the streets in protest of the arrests and abduction of CPI(ML) comrades by Maoists. On 23 January, protests were held throughout the State, including a dharna at Albert Ekka chowk by senior Party leaders at Ranchi, the state capital. A CPI(ML) delegation met with the Jharkhand Governor and DG of Police.
CPI(ML)’s Garhwa bandh on 24 January got overwhelming support of local people. Impressive mobilisation also happened in Majhiaon, Nagar Untari, Bhawnathpur amd Ramuna. However, it seemed that police were avenging the Maoist blasts by venting their anger on peaceful protestors. In the lathicharge women, older people, none was spared. Over a dozen CPI(ML) activists were severely injured, with broken limbs, in a brutal lathicharge on a peaceful protest during the bandh. Those injured include Comrade Sushma’s husband Comrade Kalicharan Mehta, her father Comrade Kishor Kumar, Comrade Rahina Begum, the elected Pramukh of Danda block in Garhwa district, and the party’s State Standing Committee Member Comrade Anant Gupta whose left leg has been broken.
Two of the arrested comrades - Maqsud Ansari and Budlal Kerketta – remained ‘missing’ from police custody for several days, till 29 January. The guard was released by the Maoists after a long period of uncertainty.
Attempts to Foil CPI(ML)’s Assertion
Garhwa is still very much in the grip of feudal forces and the feudal power centres in the district deeply resent the growing assertion of the rural poor with the CPI(ML). There have been powerful struggles for land redistribution, ration cards, against corruption in welfare schemes, and for workers’ minimum wages and rights. On the basis of these struggles Party candidates polled impressive votes in the district in the last Assembly elections and won many victories in the panchayat elections held in 2011. Sushma Mehta was elected Zila Parishad chairperson and Party nominees also won many panchayats and blocks.
The police and local administration have for some time now, launched an all-out drive to falsely implicate the CPI(ML) leaders and discredit the party, to crush the growing assertion of the party in Garhwa.
Not long ago, in Garhwa, the police raided the home of CPI(ML) activist Sita Paswan, claiming without any evidence, that fake currency had been found, indicating CPI(ML) leaders’ links with ‘ISI’. Similarly, the effort is on to link CPI(ML) with Maoists and intimidate CPI(ML)’s mass base.
By fabricating a link between a mass democratic protest by villagers with a Maoist blast, the Jharkhand police and Government are trying to tar every democratic protest with the brush of ‘terrorism’, to justify crackdown on every such protest in the name of anti-Maoist operations and Green Hunt.
The Maoist actions of massacring policemen, abducting political activists, and holding a security guard hostage are highly reprehensible and condemnable. Further, as is happening in Garhwa now, such actions are inevitably used by the state as a pretext to unleash repression on activists of mass struggles. The brunt of this repression is borne by the mass of rural people and activists emerging from these oppressed sections. It is these activists, too, who are the targets for Maoist abductions and killings – which can only serve the interests of the ruling class and the state. In the case of the assassination of Comrade Mahendra Singh by the Maoists, the killing directly benefited the corrupt nexus of police, politicians, and mining mafia. The killing by Maoists of social activist Niyamat Ansari too benefited none but the contractors and politicians benefiting from MNREGA corruption.
Protest March at Garhwa Against State Repression
On 13 February, a massive and spirited protest march took place against the ongoing state repression and witch-hunt of ordinary villagers and CPI(ML) activists in the name of combating Maoists. Defying rain, and heavy intimidatory police deployment, thousands of men and women participated in the march and mass meeting.
Marching with red flags aloft, protestors demanded the release of CPI(ML) comrades Ramdas Minz (elected mukhiya of Badgad village), and Fida Husain, and an end to the harassment and repression of villagers and CPI(ML) activists in Garhwa and the rest of Jharkhand in the name of combating Maoists. Comrades Ramdas Minz and Fida Husain had been arrested in the course of a struggle on a local issue, and were subsequently tortured and booked for collusion in a land mine blast conducted by the Maoists. While both were taken into police custody on 21 January itself, their arrest has been shown on 23 January and they were produced in court on 24 January.
CPI(ML)’s Comrade Sita Paswan’s family has not yet been provided with the seizure list of items confiscated during the police raid, though the police has claimed that false currency was found during the raid.
Recently, facts came to light regarding the brutal killing of a deaf and mute cattle herder, Lucas Minz, by CRPF personal in Latehar district of Jharkhand. The incident reportedly took place on January 31, 2012, during the joint operation by the CRPF and District Police, who claimed to be conducting an operation against Maoists. Lucas Minz, who was herding cattle near Koel River, was reportedly shot dead when, being mute, he failed to respond to queries by CRPF and Police Jawans. Having shot him dead, the security forces buried him in the sands. His family hunted in vain for him, and only on 6 February, villagers found the body and identified it. But the police then threatened the villagers and Minz’s family with dire consequences, and forced them to bury the body again. Only on February 12, did the family, assisted by CPI(ML)’s Latehar comrades, forced the police to file an FIR against the brutal killing. In another incident on January 1, a driver named Rajendra Yadav was also branded a ‘Maoist’ and gunned down by police. The CPI(ML)’s protest march on 13 February demanded justice for Lucas Minz and Rajendra Yadav, and severe punishment for their killers.
Marching at the head of the procession were Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML), Comrade Janardan, State Secretary of the party in Jharkhand, Rajaram Singh, Central Committee member of CPI(ML), Vinod Singh, CPI(ML) MLA in the Jharkhand Assembly, Sushma Mehta, Zila Parishad Chairperson, Rahina Begum, pramukh of Danda panchayat, Comrades Sogra Bibi, and Kishore Kumar. The mass meeting was presided over by Comrade Kalicharan Mehta. Comrade Ravindra Rai conducted the proceedings. The chief speaker at the meeting was Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, and other speakers included Comrade Vinod Singh, Comrade Rajaram Singh, Comrade Rahina Begum, Comrade Sogra Bibi, Comrade Kanhai Singh of Latehar, and Suneeta Kerketta, wife of Comrade Ramdas Minz.
Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda had visited Garhwa on February 12 and was in Garhwa till the morning of February 13. The protestors raised spirited slogans against Munda, and demanded that the CM answer for the killing of Lucas Minz and arrests of innocent villagers and CPI(ML) activists.
Seeking to discredit and crush the CPI(ML)’s assertion by hook or crook, the Jharkhand Government and police are indulging in a witch-hunt and outright repression of CPI(ML) activists and leaders. But history has shown, time and again, that such repressive tactics have failed in the face of revolutionary determination and resistance. The party calls upon its supporters and democratic people to beat back this political conspiracy and emerge victorious!
Why Is Comrade Ramdas Minz Behind Bars?
Badgad area of Bhandaria is a small crossroads bordering Chhattisgarh, and the traders here have links with Chando Bazar in Chhattisgarh. RSS activists from Chhattisgarh keep coming and going in Bhandaria, and they have built a Hindu base for the BJP in this part of Jharkhand. The BJP leaders in the Badgad panchayat are irked that Ramdas Minz, a CPI(ML) activist, has been elected mukhiya. Ramdas Minz has been a thorn in the side for the BJP-backed middlemen in the area.
The Maoists have had a presence in this area for a very long time. In the early 90s, when CPI(ML) too had a strong presence here, the Maoists, competing with CPI(ML), had raised their voice against these middlemen. But before long, these middlemen forged links with the Maoists, and became the medium for development works in the region. These middlemen here are also close to Inder Singh Namdhari (independent MP from Chatra, former MLA from Daltonganj, and former Speaker of the Jharkhand Assembly). On several occasions, instances of the links of middlemen and political power centres, with the Maoists. In Bhandaria in 2002, a DSP, Amlesh Kumar, was killed in a Maoist blast. Jitendra Sav was a named accused in the killing. The same Jitendra Sav used to be a prominent worker associated with Inder Singh Namdhari. On several occasions, there were photographs in the papers of Namdhari alongside Sav. In 2003-04, the issue of Namdhari’s links with Maoists became an issue in the Jharkhand Assembly, and these photographs of Namdhari with Sav had been displayed by several MLAs.
BJP Workers’ Links with Bhandaria Blast
Even in the present instance, similar evidence of links of local BJP-backed middlemen with Maoists has been suppressed under pressure from the CM, Arjun Munda. As the movement against Ramdas Minz’s arrest gained momentum, three others were arrested in the course of the investigation of the Bhandaria blast. All three are known to be BJP workers. Two of them – Puran Singh and Jabbu singh – are rural workers, and the third, Omprakash Kesri, is the district president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Kesri is said to have bought five mobiles for the Maoists, and Puran Singh is said to have been the conduit for this transaction. Puran Singh is also said to have reported to Maoists about the police response to the Bhandaria blast. He is also said to have provided shelter to the Maoists on the night preceding the blast. The BJP Yuva Morcha leader, Kersi, was arrested by police, but under pressure from Namdhari and Arjun Munda, he was released. The other two BJP workers have, however, been sent to jail. Since the blast, Munda visted Garhwa twice, and on both occasions, Omprakash Kesri was conspicuous, sharing the dais with the CM.
Maoists’ Grudge Against Minz
Ramdas Minz’ contradictions with the Maoists and with the district administration go back a long way. In the 1990s, when the PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act) was enacted, Ramdas Minz along with eight other comrades had formed the ‘Satgainya Manch’ (seven villages’ platform). This platform took up a campaign to give three panchayats around Badgad gramsabha rights under PESA. The middlemen made many attempts to break the unity of adivasis around the issue of gramsabha, using the Maoists to harass Comrade Minz and his team. The Maoists pasted handmade posters against Comrade Minz in the panchayats, and instigated campaign against him in the temple.
A Maoist leader Mursalim was in the news those days for several crimes against people. The Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar carried stories about him for five issues of the paper. The Maoists were forced to take action against Mursalim, whose activities damaged their image quite badly. The Maoists thought that Ramdas Minz was responsible for providing details to Prabhat Khabar about Mursalim, and as a result, their grudge against Comrade Minz grew stronger. The middlemen were in any case on the lookout for an opportunity to harass Comrade Minz.
The Maoists gave an order to burn Ramdas Minz’s house. Comrade Minz was forced to shift from Badgad to Garhwa town between 2002 and 2005, to escape such persecution. The Maoists (then PWG) threatened the local people not to work in Ramdas Minz’s fields. Ramdas’s wife Suneeta Kerketta managed the fields (the family’s sole means of livelihood), and brought up their children, alone. Gradually when the situation became normal, Ramdas Minz could return home. But the contradictions with the middlemen continued, and intensified when Comrade Minz won the mukhiya post, foiling the middlemen’s hopes of capturing that post and gaining control of the development funds for adivasis.
Several Attempts to Harass Minz as Mukhiya
After Comrade Minz was elected mukhiya, a tussle began over the construction of the panchayat bhavan, with the middlemen seeking to falsely implicate Comrade Minz on some pretext, so as to gain control of the development works in his absence. This is how Comrade Minz was wrongly implicated in a case of theft of wood, in September 2011. The middle school grounds on which the panchayat bhavan was to come up, had a tree in the centre. The panchayat agreed on having the tree chopped down, and accordingly took permission of the ranger/forest guard, CO and school principal, before having the tree cut and placed in the old panchayat bhavan. On 20 June 2011, the mukhiya applied to the CO for an auction of the cut logs. It was the agent assigned for construction of the panchayat bhavan, James, who oversaw the job of cutting down the tree. But the middlemen filed a false case of theft of wood, against the mukhiya, and had him sent to jail, from where Comrade Minz was released on bail from the higher court after three months.
Several other incidents took place – including attempts by the administration and middlemen to foment communal tension in Ubra village, and threats issued to Comrade Ramdas Minz.
The Immediate Precedent
A health centre was to be built in the panchayat. The gramsabha decided that the health centre should come up in Mahuateekar village, and the foundations for the health centre were laid there accordingly. The middlemen, however, began construction of the health centre in Bazar Tand. The villagers argued that Bazar Tand is a means of livelihood, and should not be disturbed. But the middlemen, in collusion with the local administration, went ahead with the construction at Bazar tand. The mukhiya, Comrade Minz, gave a written application to the Ranka SDO, who accordingly gave an order to stop construction at Bazar Tand. In spite of the order on 19 January, when construction continued on 20 January, the villagers decided on a hunger strike and dharna from 21 January onwards, knowing that if construction was not halted immediately, it would be too late.
Instead of following the CO’s government order, the police picket in-charge Dinbandhu Yadav went to Ramdas Minz’s house to threaten him, that if Minz continued to oppose construction of the health centre at Bazar Tand, the police would have him locked away for a long duration.
Paying no heed to such threats by the police, Comrade Minz continued to lead the villagers’ struggle. Villagers who began their protest on the morning of 21 January were arrested but released soon. But after the blast, the picket in-charge treacherously called the mukhiya on pretext of talks, and had him arrested again. He was badly beaten up and subjected to third degree torture.
The top police officials in the region, too, have vested interests against CPI(ML). The Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) IG is Deepak Varma, who had a hand in the killing of CPI(ML) MLA Comrade Mahendra Singh. The Palamu DIG Priya Dube too has always sought ways to falsely implicate CPI(ML) activists. Mukhiya Ramdas Minz was arrested on 21 January, but the FIR shows the date of his arrest as 23 January, and he was produced before a magistrate only on 24 January. The FIR shows ‘local resident Suresh Bhuiyan’ as a witness to the arrest – but no one of this name lives in the area. It is public knowledge that local middleman Sandip Sahu was among those who kept the Maoists updated of the police’s movements by mobile – but the police, instead of investigating such leads, has prepared its own report based on feedback from the same middlemen.
The middlemen have much power in Garhwa district, and in areas where Maoists have some influence, the middlemen have often utilized them. Rankled by the failure to capture the zila parishad, they have tried time and again to remove CPI(ML)’s Comrade Sushma Mehta from the post of Chairperson of the zila parishad. In collusion with the middlemen, the local administration and police tried to implicate Comrade Sushma in the landmine blast. When they failed to do so, they are now trying to intimidate her by withdrawing her security guard, on the pretext that she chooses to visit ‘dangerous’ areas! As an elected people’s representative, surely Comrade Sushma has an obligation to visit people in all areas, including the ‘dangerous’ ones? Does the government not have any responsibility towards keeping her safe while she discharges her duties?