http://sanhati.com/articles/2746/
Satyarupa Jana: A prize catch under UAPA
by Nisha Biswas
On July 9, 2009 Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the Chief Minister of West Bengal
assured his colleagues in State Assembly that the government would see that
Unlawful Activity Prevention Act (UAPA) is not misused. He also informed the
assembly that from the day of banning of Communist Party of India (Maoist) by
the Centre and the imposition of UAPA in West Bengal (June 22, 2009) till that
date, only 39 persons have been arrested by invoking this Act, out of which
thirty were from West Midnapore, five from Bankura and four from Purulia.
However, as his habit is, he did forget (intentionally?) to mention the first
arrest of Gour Chakroborty, spokesperson of CPI(Maoist) on the day the Maoist
party was banned by the Government of India, without giving him a chance to
clarify his stand.
The exact number of persons arrested so far under this Act is not known but the
estimate is that it is not less than a couple of hundreds. However, an RTI
inquiry by APDR reveals that, till March 2010, only 30 persons have been
arrested from West Midnapore under UAPA. The list begins with unbanned
CPI(Maoist) party Spokesperson Gaur Chakroborty, activists Raja Sorkhel, Prasun
Chatterjee, Bangla People’s March editor Swapan Dasgupta (who died in custody),
PCPA spokesperson Chhtaradhar Mahato, treasurer Sukhashanti Baskey, and other
high profile persons, including activists of democratic movement to people like
Satyarupa Jana of Pankhai, Khejuri of East Medinipur.
Satyarupa belongs to the region, which happened to be the ruling party
stronghold during Nandigram protest. She is such a politically naïve person
that
she never bothered to find out what is happening on the other side of Taikhali
Bridge. Even today, she is at loss in explaining why so many from Nandigram
were
murdered. Her life of 48 years has been a struggle to make both ends meet - she
has tried to educate her three sons and is proud of the fact that they are
doing
well and that one of her daughter-in-law is a para-teacher and the other one is
doing her graduation. Hers is a normal conventional life of a little ambitious
and industrious person who has taken risks and has almost never missed any
opportunity of an extra earning. Satyarupa says that she did hear gun shots and
the noise of bomb hurling, but has always tried to keep her family and self
away
from all these political chaos.
Today the same Satyarupa Jana is languishing in Midnapore Central jail since
24th May of this year and is accused of various offenses including waging and
conspiring war against the state, collecting and keeping arms, sedition. Her
“seizure list” includes a bag of arms used for killing the Trinamool Congrss
Panchayat leader Nishikanta Mondal at Nandigram on September 22, 2009. She is
booked under Sections 121/121A/122/123/124A/120B of Indian Penal Code, Sec
25/27
of Arms Act and also under section 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In Khejuri PS Case no. 65/10 dtd 14.05.2010 she is termed as a hard core
Maoist;
such a hard core Maoist who before her arrests had not heard the name of Mao or
his ism.
Satyarupa is a perfect example of the misuse of a draconian Act to meet the
agendas of political parties and their associates. So who is Satyarupa?
Satyarupa is one who has never missed any chance of earning money for a better
life. She has vended vegetables, fish, sold sarees in the weekly bazars. But
she
has always treaded the lawful and truthful ways and was never ever lured by
illegal means. It was four or five years back when she first heard the name of
Self – Help Groups and how it can improve one’s economic status. Being
industrious, she was among the first few who took the training and made her own
group naming it Ma Durga Self Help Group. Among the few groups that she formed
one was named after revolutionary freedom fighter Matangini Hazra, who had been
assassinated in front of Tamluk Police Station. Her group includes ex-panchayat
President of CPI(M) and wife of ex-panchayat member belonging of Trinmool
Congress. Including all colours, she had skillfully tried to avoid any
political
confrontation.
Problem started with the government instruction that the Supervisor of NREGA
work will be amongst the presidents of the Self-Help Groups functioning in the
locality. And there too we find that Satyarupa has already taken seven-day
training in BDO office around March end. Therefore the work of renovation of B
M
School pond at Pankhai, Khejuri costing more than two Lakhs goes to her.
Satyarupa, even today in Midnapore jail believes that truth prevails and that
as
long as her accounts are clear and that she is honest and sincere, she has
nothing to be afraid off. She never felt the need to give any commission to any
political group or person. This raised a huge discontent amongst the local
leaders and their accomplices. They, therefore, tried to stop her work under
NREGA and instructed local village people not to work in her projects. But, who
can stop Satyarupa? She was growing big to bigger without any political patron.
She recruited people from Bartala, a neighbouring village. Work started at 11am
of May13, 2010 and the commotion started within three hours, i.e. around 2pm
while she was going home for lunch. She was beaten up by the vested interests
and was brought to Khejuri PS. She was interrogated there and when in the
night,
Lutfar Rehman and Somen Mondal of the same village, on the instruction of OC
Atanu Santra went to the PS for her release, they too were arrested.
She and the other two were produced in Court on 15th May and police took them
in
custody for further investigation for ten days. In these ten days Satyarupa
witnessed severe beating of Lutfar and Somen and was taken to Nandigram once.
According to police in these ten days she helped them in locating a bag of arms
used for killing Nishikant Mondal. She denies knowledge of any such bag and
remembers the threat of OC Atanu Santra of Khejuri PS that they are going to
put
her in jail to rot for the rest of her life.
I met her in the only Female Ward of Midnapore Central Jail, where I too had to
spend 43 days for waging and conspiring war against the State and sedition.
Bengali writer Manik Mondal, school teacher Sri Kanishka Chowdhury and myself
were arrested from Rameswarpur of Lalgarh on June15, 2010. All through the 43
days of my stay with her, I did not find her interested in politics, she never
read newspaper and always asked me who are Maoists and who am I. She does not
understand an iota of politics and her only worry is when will she be back with
her family and the losses that she is incurring because of her detention. In
Jail we were termed Maoists, I used to enjoy the special status and privileges
associated with this word, whereas Satyarupa used to get very angry and had
repeatedly complained to jail authorities and warned other inmates that if they
do not stop calling her Maoist, she too will start calling them by their crimes
for which they are arrested or convicted.
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