Missing in Nandigram

While the relatives of those who were killed in the police firing and subsequent clashes have received financial help from different quarters, these six families have not got anything so far as they have no “proof” of death.

“We have heard from villagers that three of the six missing were murdered, but we found no proof. Unless dead bodies are traced, no death certificate can be issued. We are continuing our search for the missing people,” says D P Tarenia, IG, CID, who heads the investigating team for the missing.

Swapan Dey, Circle Inspector (CI) Mahishadal, who is part of the investigating team, also confirms that six persons are still missing. The Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) initially filed an FIR at Nandigram police station submitting a list of 42 people as missing. But 36 of these later returned home.

Meanwhile, the local CPI(M) leaders deny that anyone is missing. “The BUPC people are saying that some people are missing but they often utter nonsense. I don’t think anybody is missing,” says Ashok Bera, Nandigram Zonal Committee member and Sabhapati of Nandigram Panchayat Samiti.

Subal Majhi, 32

On November 10 last year, Subal Majhi, a farmer, left his home in Sonacura village of Nandigram at 8 am, promising his nine-year-old daughter, Sonali, that he would return in an hour and bring her books and toffees. But he never returned.

Majhi has been missing since that day, when Nandigram was forcibly “recaptured” by armed CPI(M) cadre. He was participating in a peace rally organised by the BUPC against land acquisition, when they came under attack by CPI(M) men near Maheshtala market. “My father told me he was going to take part in the rally. But he never returned. I am sure he will come back some day,” says Sonali, a Class IV student at the local primary school.

Balaram Singh, 28

Like Majhi, Balaram Singh, a resident of Southkhali, left the house in the morning of November 10 to take part in the rally. A member of the BUPC, Singh was a small marginal farmer. He told his two sons that he would be back soon, but he, too, never returned.

Bhagirath Maity, 31

Bhagirath Maity of Southkhali was a daily wager who lived with his mother, wife and son. On November 10, Maity left home at around 8 am to take part in the rally, never to return home again. Since he was the sole breadearner, the family is now finding it difficult to make ends meet.

Narayan Das, 45

“I have looked for him everywhere, from Nandigram hospital to SSKM hospital, the police station, morgue, all the houses of our relatives. People said he was shot in the leg and was dumped in a car, but we never heard from him,” says Sajal, son of Narayan Das, in Sonachura.

Aditya Bera, 65

An ex-serviceman, Aditya Bera left his house on November 6 and hasn’t been seen since. “People told us that they saw my father-in-law lying in a pool of blood. We asked for a death certificate, but the police said since his body was not found, a certificate cannot be issued,” says Shyamli Bera, his daughter-in-law.

Satyen Gole, 45

“We are mere pawns in the hands of politicians. My husband has been missing for the last four months but nobody, not even the BUPC leaders, came to help us. My husband was the only earning member of our family and we are in distress now. We don’t know what to do,” says Durga, wife of Satyen Gole of Southkhali.

STATUS REPORT

• On November 16, the Calcutta High Court called the March 14 police firing “unjustified and unconstitutional”. It also ordered a Rs 5-lakh compensation to the next of kin of those who died, Rs 2 lakh for rape victims and Rs 1 lakh for those injured. The CBI was told to file a status report within one month. On December 16, the CBI sought four more months to file the report, but the court granted two months. On February 15, the CBI submitted its report to the High Court which is yet to be opened. Meanwhile, the state Government only accepted the Rs 5-lakh compensation order, challenging the rest of the ruling in the Supreme Court. In an interim verdict in December, the Supreme Court told the CBI not to take action against anybody on the basis of its findings.

• Sabina Begum (name changed), who was raped when the CPI(M) cadres’ were “recapturing” Nandigram, has not been able to return to her house in Satengabari, dominated by CPM supporters, for fear of reprisal. She is living with her sister Khiremon in Shaikherpara,a kilometre away. Her two daughters, however, have returned to Nandigram.

• The state Government had asked the district administration to start peace committees. But this failed to take off in most areas as the Trinamool Congress refused to participate. For instance, the Sonachura peace committee was launched in mid-December, but the Trinamool Congress did not attend the meeting.

•On March 17, the CBI had arrested 10 people, including a CPI(M) local committee member and a district-level leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the CPI(M)’s youth wing, with a huge cache of arms from Janani brick kiln at Khejuri. The accused were handed over to the CID. But as the CID did not file any chargesheet, the Contai Court granted them bail.