NAPM and Delhi Solidarity Team meets Kanhar leader Gambhira Prasad in Mirzapur Jail

All India Union of Forest Working People(AIUFWP)

     NAPM  and Delhi Solidarity Team meets Kanhar leader Gambhira Prasad in Mirzapur Jail   

Release Gambhira prasad, Rajkumari and Pankaj Gautam

Dalit and Tribal leadership of  Kanhar struggle 

Mirzapur 29 May 2015

   A team from Delhi Solidarity Group, NAPM and AIUFWP meets Kanhar leader Gambhira prasad in Mirzapur Jail on the complaint received that  activists were victimized in Jail. Sanjeev Kumar, Vimal Bhai, Rajnish Gambhir, Mujahid Nafees and Matadyal meets Gambhira Prasad in Jail on 29th May 2015. The team found that all the kanhar activists were okay in the jail, they were not victimized but the food and other arrangements were not proper. The team had a comfortable time with the leader Gambhira who was very much spirited and full of zeal said that he will not leave the movement and will not allow the illegal land acquisition. He is also confident that he will soon get bail and than again he will start a new struggle from kanhar valley. The team was only allowed to meet Gambhira Prasad the other saathis Pankaj gautam, Ashrafi, yadav, Lakshman Bhuiya and Rajkumari were not allowed to meet with the team. But Gambhira reported that all were fine and they were not much problems except food. Team provided all the press clipps and letters written by Medha Patkar, AIUFWP to CM and other relevant documents to Gambhira so that they could know what has been happening outside. The activists in Jail are determined to continue the struggle and fight unto the last. On 1st June Irrigation Minister Shivpal Yadav is visiting kanhar valley to inspect the work and also inaugurate further work ( that is illegal according to the NGT order also). The adminstration does'nt want Gambhira to be released before his visit. The next date of the bail hearing is on 2nd June. The struggle continues and our demand too that all the leaders of Kanhar should be released as soon as possible. 

    

Our Demands

 

As you are aware that in kanhar valley people fighting against the illegal land acquisition and anti big dam protest were suppressed brutally by police firing on  14th an 18th April in  district Sonbhadra UP. Various leading activists are languishing in Mirzapur jail including Gambhira Prasad, Rajkumari, Pankaj Bharati, Lakshman Bhuiya, Asharfi yadav. They are being treated badly in jail even worst than a criminal. The district administration is taking full revenge from  dalit and adivasi leadership and has openly said they will rot in jail for rest of their lives for leading the struggle against kanhar dam and not allowing the administration to take the possession of the land. Their bail is being denied from the local session court and neither they are allowed to meet anyone other their family members.

•  Gambhira prasad was picked up illegally from Allahabad and he is in jail since 21st April 2015 - the entire case posted by AHRC is given below. 
• Asharfi yadav and lakshman bhuiya were picked from Varanasi on14th april when they had gone to admit injured Aklu Chero who was hit by bullet on his upper chest. These two were literally kidnapped from Sir sundarlal hospital where Aklu Chero was admitted in the evening of 14th april. Even Aklu was not informed of their where abouts. When the villagers and their family members started searching them after two days than DM sonbhadra informed Arundhati Dhuru, convenor NAPM that both of them are in jail. Police is filling case after case on these activists proving them dreaded criminals. 
• Our leading activist Rajkumari has also been illegally arrested on 20th April 2015.  She has been instrumental in fighting against the tyranny of Forest Department(FD) and has played an important role in implementation of Forest Rights Act in the region. The old cases that were filed by FD were invoked and she is also being denied bail. Whereas according to FRA the cases filed by FD was to produced as proof of their residence in filing their claims and these cases should have been dropped to undo the "historical injustice". But Police administration is violating all laws and insulting our august Parliament by invoking all old cases and intimidating tribals and making their criminal history. Rajkumari health is in very bad condition, she is being harrassed in jail, not given proper food and jail authorities forcing her to work hard in that ill health. 
  
• Pankaj Bharati a very young aspiring committed dalit activist in his early twenties and a panchayat mitra who has al through led the anti big dam peacefully was suspended by DM due to participation in movement activities and has been illegally framed with false cases. He is also languishing in jail and not allowed to meet anyone. 

Pl raise your voice against these human rights violation of dalit and tribal people and write to following ministers and human  rights organization. The names of the important ministries are given below this report. Pl find the attached reports on the kanhar issue. 

INDIA: Police attempt to abduct Adivasi Human Rights Defender Gambhira Prasad

ISSUES: Administration of justice; caste-based discrimination;
impunity; land rights

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The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from
the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) regarding the
abduction of a Human Rights Defender, Gambhira Prasad, allegedly by
policemen wearing civilian clothes. Mr. Prasad was abducted at 7 p.m.
on April 20, 2015, from Baba Chauraha in Allahabad District of Uttar
Pradesh immediately after he met with advocate Mr. Ravikiran Jain to
discuss a case that his organisation Kanhar Bachao Andolan has been
fighting. The case centers on imminent land acquisition and
displacement in relation to the Kanhar Irrigation Project in Sonbhadra
District. Local residents failed to foil the abduction of Mr. Prasad.
However, they succeeded in nabbing three of the abductors and took
them to the Cantt. Police Station. Cantt. Police informed them that
the abductors were none other than policemen from Sonbhadra. The
Cantt. Police proceeded to release the alleged Sonbhadra policemen
without demanding any identity papers from them.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Less than a week after the police repeatedly fired at members of the
Kanhar Bachao Andolan (Save Kanhar Movement) in Sonbhadra, unknown
persons abducted one of the protest leaders, Gambhira Prasad, from
Baba Chauraha in Ashok Nagar locality of Allahabad at 7 p.m. on April
20, 2015. Mr. Prasad had gone to Allahabad to meet the lawyer fighting
cases on behalf of Save Kanhar Movement. Mr. Prasad was attempting to
get legal documents photocopied when the abductors struck. The
abductors, all dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in a Scorpio (a
sports utility vehicle) and tried to drag Mr. Prasad into the vehicle.


Locals present saw this and tried to foil the attempt. While they
failed to stop the abduction, they succeeded in nabbing three of the
seven abductors, and took these three to the Cantt. Police Station.
PUCL leaders also rushed to the Police Station to inquire about the
incident and the safety of Mr. Prasad. The Cantt. Police told them
that those nabbed by the people are policemen from Sonbhadra District.
However the Cantt, Police proceeded to let these men go without
demanding any identity documents to confirm that they were indeed
policemen from Sonbhadra District. The Cantt. Police conceded that the
Sonbhadra Police had not informed them prior to this operation, as
mandated by law, and that they had no idea of their presence in the
area. They further conceded that the action against Mr. Prasad was not
a joint one.

The Cantt. Police version exposes how the Uttar Pradesh police are
violating guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for making
arrests. It also gives rise to strong suspicion about the real intent
of the Sonbhadra Police, which has chosen to try and abduct a citizen.
The abduction might have been attempted to eliminate Mr. Prasad in an
extrajudicial killing. Such killings, following abduction, are a
routine practice law enforcers indulge in across India.

Because of public pressure generated in this case, the Sonbhadra
Police, who had abducted Mr. Prasad, had to bring him back to the
Cantt. Police Station at midnight. According to the most recent
information, the Police has taken him to Sonbhadra though it is
unclear if they obtained mandatory transit remand from a magistrate
for doing the same.

The Sonbhadra administration has been upset with Mr. Prasad for
leading protests against the Kanhar Sinchai Pariyojana (Kanhar
Irrigation Project) that commenced construction in 1980-81 but gained
momentum only in the latter half of 2014, when the state started
small-scale constructions on the riverbed.

The construction is in clear violation of the guidelines laid by the
National Green Tribunal, as the project lacks mandatory clearances
from the Ministry of Environment. It also lacks mandatory clearances
from the Central Pollution Control Board despite the project
authorities' claim to have obtained an environmental clearance in
1980. This claim holds no water as the project requires a fresh
"Environment Clearance" under the EIA Notification, 2006, and also
a Forest Clearance under the provisions of Forests Rights Act, 2006.
The proposed project also violates provisions of the Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The project would require
acquisition of lands of at least 87 villages. And, several mandatory
procedures related to this acquisition have not been complied with:
project affected families have not been identified and the government
has not even initiated the process of consulting with the Gram Sabhas,
the consent of these village bodies being central for any such
acquisition under the 2013 law.

The people affected by the project have organized themselves as the
Kanhar Bachao Andolan and have lodged complaints with the National
Green Tribunal (NGT) over environmental and pollution clearances not
have been obtained. They have also filed a case with the High Court of
Allahabad against the proposed acquisitions.

After listening to the arguments, on December 24, 2014, Justice
Swatanter Kumar of the NGT issued an interim order staying all
construction activities until the project gets environment and forest
clearance as prescribed under law.

The administration has instead chosen to violate the order and has
gone ahead with construction, incensing the people who began a sit-in
in protest. The protesters assembled at the proposed dam site on April
14, 2015, where the police, allegedly, opened fire without any
provocation. The firing injured several protesters. Aklu Khairwar, one
of them, has suffered bullet injuries to his head and is struggling
for life in Banaras Hindu University Hospital in Varanasi District.
The police targeted the protesters again, this time in their villages,
particularly in Sundari, on the morning of April 18, 2015. It was in
this context that Mr. Prasad was visiting the lawyer who is arguing
the Andolan's case in the High Court.

Pl write  for unconditional release of Gambhira Prasad, Rajkumari, Pankaj Bharati, Ashrafi Yadav, Lakshman Bhuiya to following : 

1. Mr. Rajnath Singh

Union Home Minister

Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block

Central Secretariat, New Delhi - 110001

INDIA

Fax: +91 11 23092979

Email: jscpg-mha@nic.in

2. Chairperson

National Human Rights Commission of India

Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg

New Delhi-110001

INDIA

Fax: +91 11 2334 0016

E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

3. Dr. P. L. Punia

Chairperson

National Commission for Scheduled Castes

Floor 5, Lok Nayak Bhavan

Khan Market

New Delhi-110003

INDIA

Fax: 91-11-24632298

Email: chairman-ncsc@nic.in

4. Shri L.C.Goyal

Home Secretary

Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block

Central Secretariat

New Delhi – 110001

INDIA

Fax: Fax: +91 11 23093003

Email: hshso@nic.in

6.. Mr Justice U K Dhaon

Acting Chairman,

U P State Human Right Commission

TC-34, V-1, Vibhuti Khand,

 Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Email: uphrclko@yahoo.co.in,

7. Shri Akhilesh Yadav

Chief Minister

Lucknow,

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Fax: 0522 2236838

Email: cmup@nic.in

8.. Shri Alok Ranjan

Chief Secretary

Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Fax: +91 522 2239283

Email: csup@nic.in

9. Shri Arvind Kumar Jain

DGP Uttar Pradesh

1, Tilak Marg, Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Fax: 0552-2206120

Email: dgp@up.nic.in

10. Shri Sanjay Kumar,

District Magistrate,

Sonbhadra,

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Email: dmson@up.nic.in

11. Shri Shiv Shankar Yadav

Superintendent of Police

District Magistrate, Sonbhadra,

Uttar Pradesh

INDIA

Email: spsbr-up@nic.in

-- 

Ms. Roma ( Adv)

Dy. Gen Sec, All India Union of Forest Working People(AIUFWP) /

Secretary, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI)
Coordinator, Human Rights Law Center
c/o Sh. Vinod Kesari, Near Sarita Printing Press,
Tagore Nagar
Robertsganj, 
District Sonbhadra 231216
Uttar Pradesh
Tel : 91-9415233583, 
Email : romasnb@gmail.com
http://jansangarsh.blogspot.com

Delhi off - C/o NTUI, B-137, Dayanand Colony, Lajpat Nr. Phase 4, NewDelhi - 110024, Ph - 011-26214538