People's Democracy

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on August 25, 2006

THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemns the heinous torture of Comrade Kashmir Singh Thakur, member of the Himachal State Secretariat of the CPI(M) and General Secretary, HP State Committee of CITU, by the police in Himachal Pradesh. 

Kashmir Singh was fighting against construction contractor, Hindustan Construction Company, in Chamba district. The HCC management was illegally planning to restart the work of the project by recruiting new workers, throwing out all the workers who were demanding minimum wages. The District Superintendent of Police falsely implicated Kashmir Singh in criminal cases and instructed to torture him in police custody. Medical examination shows injuries on his back, hipbones and torso. It is a clear example of attack on trade union rights of the construction workers. 

The Polit Bureau demands immediate action against Upendra Thakur, DSP, Chamba, at whose instance this torture was initiated and all those who took part in the torture of the CPI(M) leader. 

The Polit Bureau appeals to the government of Himachal Pradesh to settle the industrial dispute through negotiations with the union and restore normalcy by taking back all the workers on duty.