Frivolous conspiracy cases on Jharkhand's anti-displacement activists: FACAM

Bacha Singh, Damodar Turi leading protests

Counterview Desk
Civil rights group Forum Against Corporatization And Militarization (FACAM), even as condemning the alleged harassment of Jharkhand activists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has said that they are being intimidated because they have “opposed corporate loot of people’s resources.”
Those being harassed include NIA's raid at the residences of Damodar Turi, Baccha Singh, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Dinesh Tudu, Anil Hansda, Nageshwar Mahto and Sanjay Turi, FACAM said, demanding in a statement that “frivolous conspiracy case” against them be quashed, and independent journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh be released, and NIA should stop harassing Damodar Turi, Baccha Singh and other activists of Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha.

Text:

It has come to our attention that Jharkhand based anti-displacement activist Damodar Turi is being continuously harassed by NIA by summoning him for interrogation in a frivolous and cooked up case. On 5th June, 2023, Damodar Turi was summoned for 3rd time in 3 months time. This comes in the aftermath of the raids conducted by NIA in the early morning of 2nd May, 2023, on residences of Damodar Turi, Baccha Singh, Jailed Journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh, Dinesh Tudu, Anil Hansda, Nageshwar Mahto and Sanjay Turi. All these raids were done in the case RC-01/2022/ NIA/RNC under NIA Ranchi. In a press release, the NIA said that on May 2, raids were actually conducted at a total of 14 places in Jharkhand and Bihar. It has apparently seized “incriminating material, mobile phones, digital devices and bank accounts details.”
While Damodar Turi is the convenor of Visthapan Virodhi Janvikas Andolan (VVJA) which has opposed corporate loot of people’s resources and displacement of Adivasis, Baccha Singh is the leader of Mazdoor Sangathan Samiti, a working class organisation which has recently been absolved of charges of being a Maoist front by Ranchi High Court and ban was uplifted after wrongfully being targeted for 4 years. It is important to note that this working class organization has been active among industrial laborers including Bokaro Thermal, organized informal laborers and have been building solidarity among the working class and the adivasis facing corporate induced displacement. Furthermore, Jailed Journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh has been vocal against the corporate loot of people’s resources, militarization and environmental impact of mining and industries. As far as Dinesh Tudu, Anil Hansda, Nageshwar Mahto and Sanjay Turi are concerned, these all are active members of Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JJSM) which was formed in the year 2021 to unite different organisations and individuals against displacement, corporate loot, violation of gram sabha autonomy, etc.

In a single glance on the list of persons raided and hounded by NIA, one can easily understand the malicious plot of the state machinery that is trying to suppress every democratic voice against corporate loot, displacement of people of the country, particularly adivasi farmers and militarization. It is yet another Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy like attempt to round up activists who oppose imperialist loot of resources, stand for democratic rights of struggling masses and criticise state excesses.

It is a malicious plot of the state machinery to suppress democratic voice against corporate loot and displacement of adivasis

Among Bhima Koregaon political prisoners, most were actively opposing the state-corporate expropriation of people’s resources, displacement and state repression. Father Stan Swamy himself played an instrumental in formation of Visthapan Virodhi Janvikas Andolan (VVJA) and was active in Pathalgadhi Movement to ensure the autonomy and sanctity of gram sabha. Father Stan was murdered in custody by deliberately denying him urgent medical attention. While we commemorate Father Stan and remember his struggles for the masses, we should also not forget that various activist, many who worked with him are being hounded so as to silence all the critical voices against militarization of mineral rich regions of Jharkhand like Parasnath Hills and nearby regions, where paramilitary camps are being built or established in schools/panchayat building as part of Operation SAMADHAN-Prahar and prepare a ground for extraction of mineral resources like coal, iron ore, Mica, limestone etc for mining giants like Adani and others.
Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization strongly condemns the malicious and nefarious design behind NIA's raid at the residences of Damodar Turi, Baccha Singh, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Dinesh Tudu, Anil Hansda, Nageshwar Mahto and Sanjay Turi. We also condemn the continuous harassment of Damodar Turi in the name of regular interrogations. We call upon all the democratic and progressive forces to oppose this blatant attack on people’s activists in Jharkhand and stand with the struggles of oppressed, exploited and disinherited masses of Jharkhand.
We demand:

Frivolous conspiracy case vide no. RC-01/2022/ NIA/RNC be quashed immediately.
Independent journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh should be released immediately and unconditionally.
NIA should stop harassing Damodar Turi, Baccha Singh and other activists of Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha.

Comments

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

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 ...

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.

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.

Civil society groups unite to oppose Rajasthan anti-conversion Bill, urge Governor to withhold assent

By A Representative A coalition of civil society organisations, rights groups and faith-based associations has strongly condemned the passage of the “Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Bill, 2025” in the State Assembly on September 9, calling it draconian, unconstitutional and a direct attack on the fundamental rights of minorities. The statement was released at a press conference held at Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, where representatives of more than a dozen organisations declared that they would actively lobby against the bill and urged the Governor not to grant assent, but instead refer it to the President of India under Article 200 of the Constitution.

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”.

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...

Supreme Court: Outsourcing jobs in public institutions cannot be used as a tool for exploitation

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the issue of contract workers has heated up. A few days ago in Patna, around 9,000 land survey contract workers arrived at the BJP office demanding their jobs be made permanent and for the payment of outstanding salaries. These contract workers, who are involved in land measurement, were then subjected to a police baton charge. The protest had been going on for a month at the Gardanibagh strike site in Patna, Bihar. According to the contract workers, they have been working in various government offices, including the Revenue and Land Reforms Department, for years but do not receive the same rights and benefits as permanent employees. Their main demands are "equal pay for equal work" and guaranteed service until the age of 60.

Ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh draws fresh attention during PM’s Arunachal visit

By A Representative Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh recently for two days. During his speech, a student from Keladha Adi District displayed a banner that read, “Stop the hunger strike, give Ladakh their rights,” in support of Ladakh climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk. The student was later detained by the police. The incident drew attention to the ongoing hunger strike in Ladakh.

Counterview

Search This Blog