People's Democracy

ON December 11, the CPI(M)’s Tripura state secretariat member Gautam Das demanded immediate arrest of Pradesh Congress president Samir Ranjan Barman for concealing some facts in regard to the recovery of human bones from one of the septic tanks in the chief minister’s official residence. Addressing a crowded press conference at the CPI(M) state committee office at Agartala, Gautam Das strongly condemned Samir Ranjan Barman’s version given to the press the preceding evening and termed it as totally fabricated, slanderous and politically motivated. Das said Barman had lost all sense of decency while insinuating against the state’s incumbent chief minister without the least of evidence. According to Das, Barman had resorted to this heinous act with the narrow political motive of gaining electoral dividend at a moment when the Congress party is starving of issues against the Left Front. The Congress party’s frustration has increased on the eve of polls to the Agartala municipal corporation and 12 city panchayats in the state. Das said the electorate in these polls would not forgive Barman for his fabrication. In reply to a query, he pointed out that such baseless, politically motivated slanders in the stage of investigation was tantamount to a criminal offence and was a fit case of legal action against Barman.

One recalls that while one of the septic tanks used by security persons at the chief minister’s official residence at Agartala was being cleaned on January 4 this year, a part of a human skull was recovered from its inside. The police were immediately informed and they recovered some more bones and parts of female ornaments in the subsequent search. Apparently, the scull and the bones were of a person who died 15 to 20 years ago, and it is assumed from some of the recovered items that it might be a woman’s skull.

The incumbent chief minister Manik Sarkar has been residing in this house since March 1998 and it was occupied by former chief minister Dasaratha Deb from 1993 to 1998. Though the house is marked as the chief minister’s official residence, during the Congress-TUJS coalition regime in 1988-93, a part of it was in possession of the then PWD minister Surajit Datta, and another part was being used by the then chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder.

Considering the sensitivity and gravity of the recovery of human skull from a chief minister’s residence, the state government decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI. Pending the CBI taking it up for inquiry, the CID was entrusted to carry out an investigation. Subsequently, in its reply to the government’s request, the CBI informed that the CID was proceeding in right directions and hence the CBI did not feel it necessary to take it up.

By this time the 9 bone pieces recovered from the septic tank were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, seeking information on 15 queries. In June this year, the CFSL sent an interim report to the CID, stating its findings on 6 queries out of the 15. Along with that, the laboratory also sent a photo, generated through analytical and anthropological methods, of the probable complexion of the girl victim who these bones may be associated with, and requested the CID to give wide publicity to that photo seeking the girl’s identity. Accordingly, the CID advertised that photo in two main dailies of Agartala on June 26, 2005. Till today, however, nobody has come forward to identify her.

In a press conference on December 10 evening, however, Pradesh Congress president Samir Ranjan Barman asserted that the probable victim was one "Rina Thapa, a Nepali girl" whose family members might have been driven out of Tripura in order to hush up the case. He also claimed that the victim was raped before death. He further alleged that the septic tank in question was cleansed earlier on December 29, 2000, when no such substance was found. His contention was that as the bones were found on January 4, 2005, the victim might have been dumped into the septic tank in between December 29, 2000 and January 4, 2005. In support of his statement, he claimed that he possessed an official record issued by health officer Kalipada Chowdhury, saying that the septic tank was last cleansed on December 29, 2000. To him, this implied that the incident happened in the period when the incumbent chief minister Manik Sarkar was in possession of this house.

That Barman fabricated and distorted the information is clear from the fact that there is no record as to when the said septic tank was cleansed last. Nor has Kalipada Chowdhury, the then health officer of Agartala municipal council, issued any statement saying that the said tank was cleansed on December 29, 2000. One of the employees who has been continuously serving in this house since 1993, categorically stated that he at least had not seen this septic tank being cleansed.

On the other hand, the CFSL has not as yet ascertained as to how many years the bones might have been dumped in the tank. Above all, though Barman mentioned a name "Rina Thapa" as the supposed victim, he did not divulge anything more about her, though he pretended to be aware of all details about her.

Rallies and demonstrations have been taking place in all parts of the state to protest against this mischievous slander by the PCC president. The protesters strongly demanded immediate arrest of Samir Ranjan Barman to remove the curtain over the mystery from a heinous crime. In one of such rallies held in Shakuntala Road, Agartala, presided over by Agartala municipal council chairman Sankar Das, the CPI(M)’s Sadar divisional committee secretary Samar Adhya issued an open challenge to Barman. He said if the latter had guts and even a modicum of honesty, he must come forward with the evidence to prove the allegations he made against the Tripura chief minister, or else he must quit politics. Another speaker Naresh Jamatia, CPI(M) state committee member, said Samir Ranjan Barman was, during his tenure, like a demon to the chastity of women. He had left no stone unturned to hush up the incident of mass rape of tribal women at Ujan Maidan by security persons during his regime; it is another thing that the facts of this incident were ultimately established. During his regime the number of victims of rape, gangrape and killing exceeded 200 and none of the accused was prosecuted. It is the right of the people to know who this "Rina Thapa" was, who are her parents, where they are staying now, how and when was she killed and dumped in the septic tank and, finally, how did Barman come to know about the incident. Jamatia said the spectre of "Rina Thapa" would continue to haunt him till he divulged the mystery which he has been suppressing all these days. (INN)