Niyogi kin to try Left route to justice

‘‘We will definitely talk to them and share our experiences. The family can get in touch with us and we are ready to listen to them. We are currently dealing with a similar situation — the murder our party MLA Ajit Sarkar… We have found that when the system deals with class issues, it invariably sides with what is, in our opinion, the opressive side,’’ CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader Nilotpal Basu said.

Founder of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM), Niyogi had toured the Bhilai-Raipur industrial belt in the 1970s and 80s, exhorting labourers to demand better pay and living conditions from employers. He was murdered, on the night of September 27, 1991, allegedly at the behest of the promoters of Simplex Industries, while reading Das Kapital in his guesthouse room.

‘‘We will all sit together and discuss the course of action — talking to CPI(M) leaders is one possibility that emerges. I plan to discuss this with my brother’s wife Asha and their daughter Kranti to take a decision on how to go about it,’’ Swaraj said.

Basu said, ‘‘We are always ready to talk. They should seek an appointment and come to us. The CMM and CPM have always had good relations at the political level. As a party, we have been fiercely critical of the mafia raj in the Bhilai-Raipur belt and the inhuman conditions in which workers live. We will raise this issue and link it with the failure to deliver justice.’’

Back in Dhalli-Rajara, the mining hub of the Bhilai Steel Plant, Niyogi’s family, in Swaraj’s words, is ‘‘terribly saddened that the law has failed to provide justice — we will now have to consider a whole lot of other options.’’

‘‘It is an idea. Now, we must see how to take it forward. Kranti is already holding discussions with CMM groups and the Sangathan in her town and they will be advising her on what to do about the Supreme Court review,’’ Swaraj added.

The Supreme Court had yesterday upheld the acquittal of five businessmen behind the murder of Niyogi, but sentenced the killer, Paltan Mallah, to life imprisonment.

‘‘It’s a great disappointment. Justice is not done. Sending a hired killer to life imprisonment doesn’t serve the ends of justice. We always knew that the real killers will go unpunished,’’ Niyogi’s son Jeet had told Express over the phone yesterday.