Will there be any justice for Bhetku?

Bhetku Singh, the lone wage earner for his impoverished family was found dead under mysterious situation in the residence of Mohammed Imul on July 4, 2013. Both happen to be residents of the same village: Katna, P.S. Karandighi, P.O. Madargachi, Distirct: Dinajpur (North) and Behtku like his father Haladhar Singh worked both as a cultivator and manual laborer. Known as submissive and helpful to others, Bhetku was found hanging from ceiling in Mohammed Imul’s residence. The incident has not only stunned the whole village but has brought forth a few questions as well. The first of these happens to be his purpose at the residence of Imul, local contractor.  

It is known to all in Katna that Bhetku went to New Delhi recently with Imul as laborer and after spending a few months there, he came back to the village. But the relation between them had soured by then.  Village sources reveal that a rupture took place between the two; Imul had to pay Bhetku a good amount of money still for the job in Delhi but was buying time only. Bhetku used to visit Imul’s home at regular intervals but used to return empty-handed always. None in the village knows what went wrong ultimately but Tapan Das (son of Binoy Das) residing in Madargachi was seen on the same day to take Bhetku to the residence of Mohammed Imul. Tapan left once they reached Imul’s house but as per him, Hussain Ali, Mohammed Zamul, Mohammed Skeikh Shadim were already present there. All in the village are confident that Imul and his associates were solely responsible to strangulate innocent Bhetku and hang him from the ceiling later on.

Even if the family members of slain Bhetku along with villagers are sure of this tragic development, they can’t do anything else owing to their extreme poverty. Wife of Bhektu went to the local police station along with her father-in-law Haladhar Singh to lodge a complaint. But they were just banished from there. Allegedly police told them that they had hardly any time to deal with such insignificant issues during Panchayat election. Despondent family members of Bhetku are wiping away tears now. It has been learnt, no official complaint in this regard has been lodged to the local police station yet. Perhaps Indian democracy has no time for Bhetku, deprived man representing underprivileged people only. 

Unified resistance in Roygunj forbids Islamists

Tangra, located in No 7 Shitgram, Roygunj block, North Dinajpur district, is a nondescript Hindu majority village although a few more than a dozen Badia Muslim families have been residing there. The main road to the local crematorium is beside an area where the Muslims are in a majority. A local mosque is located some 50 metres from the road and is frequented by local Muslims for years now. Recently, a move to relocate the mosque to a place much closer to the road caused uproar among the Hindu families as they perceived this as an attempt to prohibit access to the crematorium. Their apprehension is reportedly based on past experiences where their fears have come true. 

What followed was a proactive defense by Hindus, the intensity of which troubled the local police and administration. To evolve a truce, a meeting was convened in the office of the block development officer of Roygunj, comprising representatives of both communities. Hindus present there protested vehemently against the scheme of erecting a new mosque beside the road leading to the crematorium. In face of a united show by the members of the Hindu community, the administration was left with no choice but to firmly rule that no such new construction would be allowed.The joint struggle has turned Hindus in village of Tangra into a cohesive unit ready to thwart repetation of incident like this.

Hooligans thrash Hindu traders in Roygunj

Cloth traders Palash  Bhattacharjee and Padma Bhattacharjee, residents of Bhatol village, P.S. Roygunj, North Dinajpur district of West Bengal were thrashed by  Aziz Ansari, Kalam Ansari, Chalua Ansari. It has been learnt that Aziz and his associates are land dealings agents and the Bhattacharjee brothers had used their help to buy a land in the village a few years back. They had paid the requisite dealer's fee to the agency and had since transformed the land to a glossy shop. However, on 4th of July, at around 8 pm, Kalam Ansari along with Chalua and Aziz went to the newly made shop of Palash and Padma to have the remaining part of agency fee that they claimed were still due. When Padma Bhattacharjee refused to pay them anymore citing that they did not owe them anymore, a tussle started between the two groups and within a short time, all three of them, backed by a few criminals who were waiting outside the shop for an opportunity, pounced down on the two brothers.

While the shop was ransacked, both Palash and Padma were thrashed brutally. Padma had Rs, 14, 000 in his purse that was grabbed by the thugs along with other goods. To save the situation and also his two elder brothers, Tapas Bhattacharjee phoned a few Hindu youths in the area but by the time they reached the shop, Kalam Ansari and his gang had already fled. Padma Bhattacharjee has been admitted to Roygunj Sadar Hospital in a critical condition while his family members have lodged an FIR (No. 624) dated 04.07.2013 under sections 448, 323, 379 of the Indian Penal Code. Even though the police has visited the place, attackers are roaming in the area freely without fear of prosecution.