Odiya migrant worker's death in Surat police station: Demand for magisterial inquire

Odiya migrants' protest in Surat

Counterview Desk
Gujarat civil rights activists Krishnakant Chauhan of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Sanjay Patel of the Ajeevika Bureau, in a letter to chief minister Vijay Rupani, with copies to chief secretary Anil Mukim, DGP Shivanand Jha and Surat commissioner of police RB Brahmbhatt, have demanded immediate action against the cops responsible for the death of a migrant worker during police action in the Amroli Police Station, Surat, at Anjani Industrial Estate-1.
Stating that this is not the first of instance where people have suffered police high-handedness during lockdown period, the letter insists, the Gujarat government should follow the National Human Rights guidelines on ‘Death during Police Action’ in this matter.

Text:

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed severe health challenge to India and the world. The Government of India as a step to contain the spread of deadly pandemic declared lockdown throughout the country since 25th of March, extending it thrice. The lockdown will continue into its fourth phase post May 17 as announced by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation.
The lockdown has also resulted in a humanitarian crisis with crores of people losing their livelihood, as industries and economic activities were prohibited.
There have been several reports on how the migrants are going through difficult times without money and food to survive. The government efforts have fallen short to ensure security and douse the ensuing anxiety among the distressed migrant labours. The belated efforts to allow transportation for them to reach their natives has led to protests in many places throughout India, including Gujarat.

Surat is an industrious city and we have lakhs of workers from different states of India. There is heightened anxiety and sense of distrust and dejection on the government efforts as people could neither get enough to eat or could get free ration from government scheme and the adhoc transportation efforts. The process of transportation arrangements have been opaque and confusing at times. And have led to exploitation of the poor migrants.

The Incident:

With no proper avenue to get true/correct and proper information about transportation the labours have also been approaching the police for help and assistance. A group of Odisha migrant labours from Anjani Industrial Estate have been visiting the Amroli police station for this purpose.
After several assurances, but no action, on May 14 night a group of labourers went to Police station to enquire about the arrangements for transport. Not getting proper reply there was heated arguments with the police at the police station. This group was chased away into Anjani Industrial Estate, Vibhag-1.
Nowhere to run, with police threatening the distressed labourers with lathis, people got into some industrial units. On hearing the shutter of their unit being banged at Satya Swain, who lives inside the premises of Gopinath Textile, Plot 158-160, Anjani Industrial Estate, Vibhag-1 and is employed with the unit went and opened the shutter.

The police personnel without giving him a chance to respond or without ensuring if he was part of the group at the police station, was severely beaten leading to his death. As we have learnt the police have also seized the CCTV of the unit into their custody.
This is not a first of instance where people have suffered police high handedness during this lockdown period. There are several representations by the industries, doctors and other essential service staff in this regard, including reported cases in media.
We demand that:

National Human Rights guidelines on ‘Death during Police Action’ be followed in this matter.
FIR be registered in the matter.
Ensure the CCTV confiscated by the police not be tempered with.
Autopsy ascertaining the cause of death, in accordance with the ‘Guidelines for video-filming and photography of post-mortem examination in case of death in police action’.
Immediate suspension of police personnel involved in the incident, pending inquiry.
Magisterial enquiry be conducted into the incident.

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Counterview

Search This Blog