People's Democracy

THE District Magistrate of Bhiwani had invited the leaders of the Khanak Stone Mines Workers Union for negotiations on February 21. Earlier also two rounds of discussions were held between the DM and the trade union leaders. As the leaders, including Satveer Singh, general secretary, Haryana state CITU, Dharamveer Kungar, Karamveer and Anil Sharma-all office bearers of the Workers Union reached the DM office for talks, they were confronted by waiting plain clothes policemen. They were forcibly bundled into a waiting jeep and taken away. Later the five trade union leaders were beaten up, tortured and kept standing through out the night in ice-cold water in the Bhiwani police station. They were pressurised into agreeing to the contractors’ terms.

This is only one instance of high-handed brutality of the Haryana administration. The following incidents reveal the extent of this brutality :

• Workers Union president Karamveer’s aged father was taken away by the police twice from his home in Khanak village and kept in illegal custody. A case has also been filed against Karamveer’s mother by the police.

• Former general secretary of the Workers Union, Anil Sharma’s father Mange Ram who is a retired school teacher, was also taken away by the police and tortured in the police station.

• A 13 year old school student Virender son of Jagdish has been arrested and placed in judicial custody.

• 12 year old girl Savita of Khanak village was dragged out of her house and molested.

There are numerous other cases of such brutality but as the police is preventing anyone, including local elected representatives from entering the area it has become difficult to document these cases, said CITU president Solanki.