People's Democracy

Strike against TU Functionary’s Murder

EMPLOYEES of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a public sector telecom major, have decided to go on a one day strike on November 16, 2012.

The decision has been announced by the BSNL Employees Union, the biggest and the recognised union in the corporation, which represents 2,20,000 employees of the BSNL, through a press statement issued from New Delhi on October 27.

The one day all-India strike is to press the demand for immediate arrest of the BSNL general manager in Ghaziabad and his accomplices who are guilty of the cold-blooded murder of Sukendar Pal Singh, Ghaziabad district secretary of the BSNL Employees Union, on October 22.

According to a press release issued by BSNL Employees Union general secretary P Abhimanyu at a press conference held at the Press Club of India in New Delhi later, such a heinous crime was never heard of in the history of the trade union movement of the country. The crime was committed by Adesh Kumar Gupta, BSNL general manager in Ghaziabad, and four accomplices. The murder was well planned and meticulously carried out.

What happened on October 22 was that at around 10 a m on the day, Sukendar Pal Singh was called by Adesh Kumar Gupta to his chamber where he was brutally beaten up by Gupta and four of his accomplices. In the attack, Sukendar Pal Singh’s skull was fractured and he sustained serious head injuries. When he was taken to the hospital, he was declared “brought dead” by the doctors. Swellings and bruises were found on many parts of his body. A first information report (FIR) was filed against Gupta and his identified accomplices, in the Kavi Nagar police station of Ghaziabad.

At the said press conference, P Abhimanyu also made the accusation that even after the lapse of one week none of the culprits had been arrested. Moreover, Shiv Shanker Yadav, the superintendent of police (SP) of Ghaziabad, went to the extent of giving a statement on October 22 itself that Sukendar Pal Singh had not died due to any injuries he had sustained; rather the death had occurred due to heart attack. This was the gist of the report published in the Hindustan Times on October 23, 2012. It is noteworthy that the SP Ghaziabad made this statement even before the post mortem report had come out. This clearly showed that the Ghaziabad police had been protecting the culprits. The statement of the BSNL Employees Union severely condemned this act of the Ghaziabad superintendent of police.

The BSNL Employees Union had also sent a complaint about Adesh Kumar Gupta to the secretary, Department of Communications (DoT) as well as to the chairman and managing director of the BSNL, and had demanded immediate suspension of Gupta. The union, however, regretted that neither the DoT nor the BSNL management had taken any action so far.

It was in these circumstances that the United Forum of the BSNL Unions, consisting of five organisations, decided to organise a one day all-India strike on November 16, 2012, demanding the immediate arrest of Adesh Kumar Gupta as well as his accomplices , and also their immediately suspension from service. The United Forum has also directed the district level unions throughout the country to send telegrams to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh as well as to the union minister for communications and information technology in order to press these demands.