West Bengal: Encounter Deaths or Cold Blooded Murders?
By Ranjit Sur
19 July, 2011
Countercurrents.org
The Supreme court of India ordered a CBI enquiry over the death of CPI( Maoist) leader Azad (Cherakuri Rajkumar). His Party and Rights organizations’ allegation was that he was murdered in a fake encounter by Andhra Police. Ms Mamata Banerjee ,the new Chief Minister of West Bengal, too raised her voice in protest and demanded proper enquery in a public meeting in Jangalmahal before the Assembly election.
Almost all the important leaders of Lalgarh Movement- as the Adivasi Uprising of West Bengal's Jangalmahal is known, except Chatrodhar Mahato ,faced the same consequences as that of Azad. According to the previous Left Front Government’s statement all of them died of Encounter in the jungles .The legendary leaders like Lalmohan Tudu, Sidhu Soren, Umakanta Mahato, Shoshodhar Mahato and many more died of 'Encounters' with joint forces in West Medinipur's Lalgarh region. Peoples’ committee against Police Attrocities (PCPA) in a written statement complaint that Lalmohan Tudu, their President, while returning from home after meeting his Madhyamik examinee daughter has been killed by the joint forces from the point blank range. Sidhu Soren was killed along with four more militia activists while sleeping in the jungles at Metala. Umakanta Mahato were captured by the CPI(M) activists and handed over to the joint forces who eventually killed him. Seven young CPI(Maoist) squad members were killed in jungles at Ranjja while sleeping at night. Their bodies were carried hanging in Bambaoos which created huge resention .The last 'encounter death' in Lalgarh , just before the election process began, was that of Shoshodhar Mahato's. He was the younger brother of Chatradhar Mahato - jailed PCPA spokesperson. After identifing the body of Shoshodhar Mahato Chatrodhar issued a statement and claimed that his brother was killed in a fake encounter. He claimed that he was killed by the joint forces after capturing from a hideout.
An Association for Protection of Democratice Rights (APDR) fact finding also claimed that bullet injuries and position of his body and arms etc prove that there was no encounter at all and he was killed in a fake encounter. Police authorities and Government of West Bengal as usual claimed that he was killed in an encounter and they refused to order any enquiry. Actually , the Left Front Government of West Bengal never ordered any enquiry for any of the ‘ encounter’ deaths. PCPA has published a list of Myrtars in Lalgarh movement and 94 names are there upto August 2010. Out of this 94 persons 45 persons are shown as murdered by joint forces or Bengal police in fake encounters. Not a single encounter has been ordered enquiry or investigated by the Government of West Bengal..
National Human Rights Commission has ordered that every 'encounter death' should be reported to them within 48 hrs and every 'encounter death' should be investigated by an independent organisation. Our IPC, CrPC and Article 21 of Indian constitution also demands full and impartial investigation in case of each and every 'encounter death'. Yet there is none in West Bengal. The most heinous crime is that in most of this cases the families were deprived of the bodies of their dear ones. Government claimed that the families did not demand the bodies. But APDR investgation revealed that they were heavily threatened of facing the same fate if they go to collect the bodies. Even the post mortem report were not provided to the most of the victim families.
West Bengal has a new government now. But the new Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee is still maintaining a calculated silence over the issue. Not a single Police personel has been punished for torturing people in previous regime. But the people of Jangalmahal and rights activists across the state expect and demand that the new Government announce a thorough investigation in all the cases of ENCOUNTER DEATHS in WEST BENGAL and give examplary punishment to the culprits and due compensation to the victim families.
[ The Writer is a Secretariat member of the ASSOCIATION FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS(APDR) . But the opinion expressed here is his personal].
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