In a judgement by the sessions court in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh forty people have been convicted, mostly rural landless poor, in a 29 years old case which was filed with vengeance by feudal forces in collusion with local police against CPIML activists who were leading a peaceful movement against the killing of a woman and a minor by the domineering elements in Baluan village. The court has acquitted three persons out of four accused for the murder of two landless villagers.
CPIML senior leader and UP State Committee member Ramkishore Verma, All India Agricultural and Rural Labour Association (AIARLA) Deoria district president Prabhunath Paswan and party’s district committee member Chhotelal Kushwaha along with Nathuni Sharma, Radhakishun and Jalesar Patel are among 40 people who are convicted for ‘dacoity’ under IPC sections 395 & 397. Ironically, this false and motivated case was filed by the same people who killed two villagers and the party had raised this issue to get them justice. These feudal elements had also carried out a near fatal attack on party leaders then in 1995. Comrade Ramkishore Verma who is now convicted for ‘dacoity’ and causing ‘grievous injury’ was, on the contrary, shot at and brutally beaten up along with many justice seeking people who were demonstrating with the demand of justice for the two villagers who were murdered in broad daylight.
Rural landless workers of Baluan village objected to the forced usury and work without wages by the feudal usurer family in the village in mid nineties. This movement was led by Comrade Ramkishore Verma along with other party activists. The usurer perpetrated an organised attack in which two people were killed and many got injured. When a case was lodged against the killers, they managed a ‘counter case’ naming 59 people in the FIR. Out of those 59, seven were minors while ten persons had died during the hearings of this case. Now forty persons have been convicted most of them are landless poor and above sixty years of age. This judgement has come for them as another brutal blow after the bitter memories of the 1995 attack while they are still seeking justice for the victims.
Bhim and Durgesh from Balauan village now tell the real story how their villagers dared to stand against the feudal oppression three decades ago and how they faced more oppression in turn thanks to insensitive administration as well as the polity that still somehow favours the oppressors. They reiterated their resolve to continue fighting for justice and dignity against the feudal oppressors without any trace of demoralisation in face of the current verdict.
The CPIML leader Rajesh Sahni has said the party will go for an appeal against this judgement in higher court and a statewide protest programme will be organised on 19 February against this travesty of justice.
Implicating CPIML activists in false cases continues under Yogi-raj. Party activists in Mirzapur, in one incident, have been falsely charged, jailed and expelled from the district under the instigation of BJP henchmen. In another incident in Azamgarh, CPIML local committee member Rajendra Ram was sent to jail on 14 February after he was charged in a false case.
