Brief report of the Fact Finding Team on the Police Firing at Badkagaon, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand (Eng/Hindi)

Brief Report of the Fact Finding Team

Police Firing at Badkagaon, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Field Visit Dates- November 7-9, 2016

Organiser- Delhi Solidarity Group

The Seven members Fact-Finding Team(FFT) comprised of the following persons-

1. Sri Jawahar Lal Kaul (Former Additional and District Judge, Uttar Pradesh)
2. Professor Chauthi Ram Yadav ( Banaras Hindu University)
3. Professor Vinod Kumar (National Law University, Delhi)
4. Ms. Priya Pillai (Environment Activist)
5. Mr. Madhuresh Kumar( National Convener, National Alliance of People’s Movement)
6. Ms. Himshi Singh (National Alliance of People’s Movement)
7. Mr. Umesh Babu (Delhi Solidarity Forum, Delhi)

Objectives and the Mandate of the FFT

The objectives and mandate were two fold-

1. To look into the killing of four persons by police dated 1st October 2016 in the village Dandi Kala (District Hazaribagh, Jharkhand) and to find out the facts related to the incident ;
2. To suggest the measures to facilitate justice to the victims and their families restoring peace and harmony

Facts of the Case

Thousands of unarmed villagers belonging to 28 villages of (Hazaribagh, Jharkhand) were sitting on a peaceful Dharna at Chiru Barwadih protesting against the forcible land acquisition by the administration for and on behalf of the National Thermal Power Corporation (Govt. of India Undertaking) and the Triveni Sainik Private Lt. (a private mining company.  The Dharna and the protest of the villagers had started from 15th September 2016. This Dharna was being supported by the local MLA, Mrs. Nirmal Devi.

On the day of the incident, i.e. 1st October 2016 at around 3 A.M. police party raided the site of the Dharna with heavy lathi charge for arresting Ms. Nirmala Devi. Between 4.30- 5. A.M. police tried to arrest Ms. Nirmala Devi by dragging her out forcibly from the place of Dharna but the villagers resisted and tried to protect her. However, police picked her up and moved away. When the police convoy reached Dadhi Kala the villagers tried to stop the vehicle and tried to free Mrs. Nirmal Devi from the clutches of the police.  In this process, police opened fire multiple rounds indiscriminately. Consequently, four persons namely- Mr. Mehtab Ansari (village ChepaKhurd) age 30 years, Mr. Ranjan Kumar Das (village Sindhwari) age 17 years, Abhishek Roy (village Sonvarsha), age 19 years and Mr. Pawan Kumar (village Sonvarsh) age 17 years got killed in the police firing.

It is important to know that the deceased were neither a part of the Dharna nor a part of the movement. Among the deceased persons the first victim, Mr. Mehtab Ansari was a daily wage worker living in an acute poverty. He got caught in between the indiscriminate police firing and died on the spot while going for his job that morning.

The second victim, Mr. Abhishek died while he was on the way to bring his younger brother Abhijeet who also had gone for his tuition. While Abhishek came to know that some incident has taken place. Apprehending untoward eventuality he went to bring his brother Abhijeet from the tuition. Abhishek also became victim of the indiscriminate police firing and died on the spot.

The third victim Ranjan Kumar was also returning from his tuition as the tuition center was closed early and he was to go home in the anticipation some untoward eventuality. Ranjan Kumar also became victim of indiscriminate police firing in the same way while he was on his way to his house.

The fourth victim Pawan Kumar was also returning from his tuition when he fall prey of the indiscriminate bullets fired by police. But Pawan Kumar’s case was even worse. His life could have been saved and some of the villagers actually rushed to his help immediately when he was shot down. The villagers tried to take him to the hospital but police did not allow anyone to help him out. Police surrounded Pawan Kumar and cracked down on each one who tried to help him out. According to the testimonies of villagers, police kicked and booted Pawan Kumar till he died. A few hours after the killing police took away his dead body and kept secretly in the Panchayat Ghar which was illegally occupied by police and locked it from outside. The villagers and the family members kept demanding but police did not hand the dead body till 9 P.M. This was a blatant case of inhuman treatment and also an embodiment of police and administrative insensitivity.

Established Protocol and the Rule of Law not followed

The FFT observes that in this incident of police firing the established protocol of arrest and crowd control was not followed. According to the mandate of Section 47 of Criminal Procedure Code firstly, the law allows police to use force only for the purpose of arresting.  Even for firing, there is a set and standard protocol which police is supposed to follow even in worse situations. First police have to make a clear announcement by giving a warning to disperse. Secondly, tear gas and rubber bullets are used; if the crowd does not disperse or become violent police can open fire in the air. However, if even this does not work police can fire but essentially below the knee. Law permit firing at crowd/ accused in exercise of their right to private defense and that too only for the purpose of disabling them so that they may be brought to justice. The criminal justice jurisprudence imbibes the doctrine of allocation of competence i.e. each functionary of the criminal justice has been allocated a specified competence. The FFT observers that this is a case of gross miscarriage of justice.

Villagers under Constant Trauma and Fear

Immediately after the killing of four innocent persons the villagers became infuriated and tried to beat the Circle Officer who had ordered for firing. The very next day of the incident police party attacked the village and barged into their houses thrashed and abused dozens of women and arrested dozens of villagers in retaliation of beating of the Circle Officer. According to the villagers, even after more than a month police party every day come to the village for making arrest of the persons (accused) whom they have named in the FIR as “ others”. Police threaten them to cause further killings if they do not part with their land. The FFT has found and realized that the villagers are extremely terrified. Many women and children still do not stay in the village after sunset due to fear of arrest and brutalization. Many villagers are still absconding due to fear of arrest and fake encounters.

No Registering of FIR

The most unfortunate aspect of this incident is that even after more than one month no FIR has been registered against the guilty police persons and the villagers had to resort to the long and the desperate judicial process of making a complaint to the magistrate. Nevertheless, villagers are still waiting for FIR to be registered. This is despite the fact that that there is a clear law established by the Supreme Court that in the case of custodial death, encounter deaths and police firing, registration of FIR is mandatory.

No Compensation Granted

It is also important to note that no compensation has yet been granted to the families of the deceased and the injured persons. There are many injured persons who fall prey to the indiscriminate police firing who are getting their medical treatment in private hospital borrowing lakhs of Rupees from private money lenders. They are now under a heavy debt.

No Due Process Followed in Land Acquisitions

Looking at the records and the testimonies of the victims and the villagers it is clear that the due process has not been followed in the land acquisition process. Firstly, the consent of the villagers and the Gram Sabha as mandated by the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and the PESA Act of 1996 has been obtained. Secondly, when it comes to public hearing, either no public hearing have been conducted or fake public hearings have been conducted by the NTPC and the said private company in order to manufacture the consent of the villagers. The administration has not complied with the mandate of the Forest Rights Act acknowledging their individual and community rights over the adjoining forests.

FFT Meeting with the Deputy Commissioner

On 8/11/2016 the FFT met the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Ravi Kumar Shukla in order to understand the situation and the administrative attempts to registering FIR, justice to the victims and restore peace and harmony in these villages following the incident of killings. However instead of stating the truth and shouldering the responsibility of administrative failure and miscarriage of justice he tried to justify the killing on the grounds of the exercise of the right to private defense as the villagers had beaten up the Circle Officer. However, the People’s view was that the Circle officer was beaten up by the villagers after the police killed the said four persons.

During the discussions,, the DC also made it clear that the villagers will have to part with their land as this is a clear mandate of the govt. But he could not give any satisfactory reply on the issue of forced and illegal acquisition of land, flouting the due process. He even went on to say that villagers are not supposed to obstruct the administrative course of action.

Recommendations of the FFT

1. The FFT hereby recommends that the administration must take immediate measures to restore trust of the villagers by directing police to vacate the Panchayat Ghar illegally which has been illegally occupied
2. Immediate orders for registering FIR and CBI investigation as the inquiry set up by the govt. is nothing but a sham as the members of the inquiry committee never visited the village and never tried to take the testimonies of the victims
3. TheAdministration must immediately stop the forced land acquisition as the lives, livelihood and future of the villagers is doomed by these acquisitions. The FFT feels that these land acquisitions are being done in gross abuse of the doctrine of Eminent Domain and the Public Purpose Clause of the Land Acquisition Act.
4. Immediate and adequate compensation must be granted to the victims and their family and permanent govt. employment should also be given to at least one member of the families of the deceased.
5. Medical treatment must be ensured on the expenses of the govt. immediately.

बड़कागाँव, हज़ारीबाग गोली कांड पर फैक्ट फाइंडिंग टीम की संक्षिप्त रिपोर्ट

यात्रा की तारीख : नवम्बर 7-9, 2016.

आयोजक- दिल्ली समर्थक समूह 

फैक्ट फाइंडिंग टीम के सात सदस्यों का नाम

1. श्री जवाहरलाल कौल (पूर्व जिला एवं सत्र न्यायधीश, उत्तर प्रदेश)
2. प्रोफेसर चौथीराम यादव (बनारस हिन्दू विश्व विद्यालय)
3. प्रोफेसर विनोद कुमार (राष्ट्रिय विधि विश्व विद्यालय, दिल्ली)
4. प्रिया पिल्लई (पर्यावरण एवं मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्त्ता)
5. मधुरेश कुमार (राष्ट्रीय कन्वेनर, जनांदोलनों का राष्ट्रिय संगठन)
6. हिमशी सिंह (जनांदोलनों का राष्ट्रिय संगठन)
7. उमेश बाबू (दिल्ली समर्थक समूह)

उद्देश्य: बडकागांव गोलीकांड के तथ्यों को खोजना एवं सुझाव

गाँव वालों का दृष्टिकोण:

हजारीबाग के 28 गावों से हजारों की संख्या में लोग जबरदस्ती भूमिअधिग्रहण के खिलाफ चिरु बरवाडीह पर 15 सितम्बर 2016 को शांतिपूर्ण धरना से कर रहे थे | यह धरना स्थानीय विधायक श्रीमती निर्मला देवी के सहयोग से किया जा रहा था |

1 अक्टूबर 2016 सुबह 3 बजे पुलिस ने धरना स्थल पर श्रीमती निर्मला देवी को गिरफ्तार करने के लिए रेड डाली | धरनास्थल पर मौजूद महिलाओं ने इसका विरोध किया तो उनपर लाठी चार्ज की गयी और श्रीमती निर्मलादेवी को  बाल पकड़कर पुलिस ने दूर तक घसीटते हुए अपने गाडी में बैठाया और उनको लेकर जाने लगे | बीच में दांडी कला गाँव में लोगों ने निर्मला देवी को छुड़ाने के लिए पुलिस की गाड़ी को रोका | पुलिस ने समाधान का रास्ता निकलने की बजाय विरोध को कुचलने का रास्ता अख्तियार किया जो अन्तत: अंधाधुंध गोलीबारी में घटनास्थल पर ही चार लोगों की मृत्य के रूप में सामने आया |

अंधाधुंध पुलिस फायरिंग का पहला शिकार श्री महताब अंसारी हुए जो तडके सुबह अपने दैनिक मजदूरी के कार्य पर जा रहे थे | महताब अंसारी चेपा खुर्द ग्राम के रहने वाले थे जिनकी उम्र 30 वर्ष थी |

दूसरा शिकार अभिषेक राय जिसकी उम्र 19 वर्ष थी और वह सोनबरसा गाँव का निवासी था | अभिषेक को पता चला कि कोई उपद्रव हो रहा है और उसका भाई अभिजीत उसमें फंस न जाये, इसलिए वह उसको ट्यूशन से वापस लाने गया था | आते वक्त अभिजीत बच गया लेकिन उसका बड़ा भाई पुलिस की अंधाधुंध गोली का शिकार हो गया और उसकी तत्काल मौत हो गयी |

तीसरा शिकार रंजन कुमार दास है जिसकी उम्र 17 वर्ष थी, सोनबरसा गाँव का निवासी था और वह भी ट्यूशन सेंटर बंद होने की वजह से वापस आ रहा था |

चौथा शिकार है पवन कुमार साव, उम्र 17 वर्ष जो ट्यूशन पढ़ने गया था और यह भी सोनबरसा गाँव का निवासी था |

इसके आलावा फैक्ट फाइंडिंग टीम उन 6 लोगों से भी मिली जिनको गोली लगी है और अपना इलाज निजी अस्पतालों से करा रहे हैं | गाँव वालों ने बताया कि करीब 30 से भी ज्यादा लोग हैं जिनको गोली लगी लेकिन दहशत के कारण वे दूसरी जगह चले गए हैं और अभी तक गाँव में लौट कर वापिस नहीं आये हैं |

घायलों ने यह बयान दिया कि गोली चलाने से पहले पुलिस ने कोई भी चेतावनी नहीं दी बल्कि जब लोगों को मार दिया गया उसके बाद औपचारिकता पूरी करने के लिए पुलिस ने लाउडस्पिकर के माध्यम से चेतावनी दिया जिसका विडियो फुटेज पुलिस के पास है और वह इसे अपने पक्ष में पेश कर रही है |

सभी लोगों (मृतकों और घायलों) को गोली कमर से ऊपर लगी है | इन प्रमाणों से ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि अंधाधुंध गोलियां लोगों को जान से मारने के इरादे से चलायी गयी थी | यदि भीड़ को तितर-वितर करने का इरादा होता तो गोलियां लोगों के कमर से निचे ही लगती |

फैक्ट फाइंडिंग टीम को ग्रामीणों ने बताया कि इस घटना के बाद भी, 3 अक्तूबर को पुलिस ने धारा 144 लागु करके उसकी आड़ में घरों में घुस कर महिलाओं, बुजुर्गों, और बच्चों को लाठी से मारा | जिसके कारण गाँव में दहशत का माहोल बन गया है और जिस पुलिस को रक्षा का प्रतिक माना जाता है उसी से लोग डर कर गाँव खली कर रहे हैं और बच्चे स्कूल जाने से कतरा रहे हैं| लोगो का प्रसाशन पर से भरोसा उठ गया है|

अधिकारीयों का दृष्टिकोण

जिला अपायुक्त ने पुलिस की गोली-बारी को ग्रामीणों के उपद्रव का परिणाम बताया जिसमें उन्होंने सर्किल ऑफिसर के पिटाई का विडियो साक्ष्य के रूप में पेश करने का दावा किया | उन्होंने यहाँ तक कहा कि लोगों को सरकारी कार्यों में बाधा नहीं डालनी चाहिए, क़ानूनी तौर पर यह जमीन भूमि अधिग्रहण के आधीन है और ग्रामीणों को यह जमीन देनी ही पड़ेगी |

3 अक्टूबर की घटना के सन्दर्भ में जिला उपायुक्त ने बताया कि उनके संज्ञान में इस तरह की घटना नहीं घटी है | परन्तु पुलिस अधीक्षक ने इस तरह की घटना की सम्भावना से इनकार नहीं किया |

चार मौंतों के बाद FIR अभी तक दर्ज नहीं हुई है | इस बिंदु पर पुलिस अधीक्षक एवं जिला उपायुक्त दोनों ने एक बात रखी कि अभी तक कोई FIR दर्ज कराने के लिए नहीं आया | उन्होंने यह भी बताया कि इस मसले पर एक जाँच कमिटी का घठन किया गए है जिसके सदस्य गृह सचिव, अतिरिक्त पुलिस महानिरीक्षक (CID) और कैबिनेट सचिव हैं |

जमीन सम्बंधित मसलों पर ग्रामीणों की राय

1. जो जमीन, लोग सरकार या किसी कंपनी को नहीं देना चाहते हैं वह काफी उपजाऊ और तीन फसलीय कृषि योग्य भूमि है |
2. जिन ग्रामीणों से फैक्ट फाइंडिंग टीम मिली इनमें से किसी को भी अभी तक कोल बियरिंग अधिनियम के तहत कोई भी नोटिस या पत्र सरकार की तरफ से नहीं मिला है |
3. भूमि अधिग्रहण से जुडी औपचारिकता पूरी करने के लिए National Thermal Power Plant Corporation (NTPC) ने फर्जी हस्ताक्षर वाले दस्तावेज तैयार किये हैं | ग्रामीणों ने सपष्ट किया कि उन्होंने कभी भी भूमि अधिग्रहण को मंजूरी नहीं दी है |
4. Forest Right Act 2006 को अभी तक लागु नहीं किया गया है जिसकी वजह से सामुदायिक और व्यक्तिगत अधिकार नहीं मिल पाया है |
5. NTPC के दस्तावेज के अनुसार जंगलों में गिलहरी, सियार, सांप और चिड़ियाँ रहती हैं | लेकिन वन विभाग के अनुसार इसमें दुर्लभ जानवर जैसे हाथी, बाघ, भालू, चिता, आदि भी रहते हैं | यह दोनों दस्तावेज मेल नहीं खा रहे हैं और इनमें से कोई एक गलत है | NTPC के दस्तवेज गलत हैं, ऐसा ग्रामीणों ने बताया किया |

सुझाव:

1. तुरंत FIR दर्ज करने के लिए सरकार को ठोस कदम उठाना चाहिए |
2. पुरे घटनाक्रम की CBI द्वारा निष्पक्ष जाँच होनी चाहिए |
3. जबरन भूमी अधिग्रहण तत्काल प्रभाव से बंद होना चाहिए |
4. कोयला खनन का कार्य तत्काल प्रभाव से बंद हो |
5. घायलों के इलाज का पूरा खर्च सरकार बहन करे |
6. मृतकों के परिवार को स्थानीय संगठनों से वार्ता के पश्चात उचित मुआवजा और अन्य सहायता जल्द से जल्द दी जाय |