INDIA: 11 villagers killed and more than 50 persons injured when police fired at villagers protesting against proposed land acquisition in Nandigram

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its partner organization MASUM in West Bengal regarding the alleged killing of at least 11 persons in an incident of police firing against farmers protesting against a proposed acquisition of land for a chemical plant in Nandigram, East Midnapore district, West Bengal. According to MASUM, at least eleven villagers were killed and more than 50 persons were injured. It is alleged that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPIM (M)] cadres are preventing the people, journalists, activists from entering Nandigram and harassing anyone who attempted to enter the area. CPI (M) is the ruling party in West Bengal state. It is alleged that already two local journalists of news channel “Tara News” Mr. Gouranga Hazra and Mr. Bholanath Bijali, who were covering the issue, are missing from Nandigram. See further UA-014-2007 for another similar case to this.

DETAILED INFORMATION

According to information received on 14 March 2007, early in the morning, about 5,000 strong security forces consisting of state police, Rapid Action Force, Eastern Rifles and other paramilitary forces entered the remote areas in Nandigram, East Midnapur district, West Bengal state, India. The massive force was deployed to allegedly restore severed communication links with the region. The region was witnessing protests by villagers, fanned out by opposition political parties in the state against the proposed acquisition of land for Special Economic Zone to be setup by an Indonesian company, the Salim Group for a chemical hub in the region. The Salim Group is one of the biggest conglomerates of Indonesia that have Indofood Suksed Mamur, the world’s largest instant noodle producer and owns some oil palmplantations (source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salim_Group ).

The state of West Bengal is ruled by the CPI (M) and the government has decided to setup a Special Economic Zone in Nandigram in the pretext of development. However, an estimated 40,000 farmers will be affected by land acquisition if such a project is to materialise. Owing to discrepancies in the process of land acquisition, which is proven from past and present experiences and lack of alternatives the local inhabitants have been protesting against acquiring land calling for their right to land.

Adding into the commotion, the opposition political parties in West Bengal, who did not have much of a political ground for the past decade or even more, has seized the opportunity and has also moved in to Nandigram to make use of the dispute to cater their alleged political agenda. As the protest fanned out with added fuel from the political parties, the region was allegedly cut off from rest of West Bengal. The CPI (M) that has a proven track record of ruling the state using its carders to terrorise any opposition within the state.

It is alleged that on 13 March 2007, the local villagers demonstrated before Nandigram Police Station and objected any possible police action at Nandigram and warned against application of any force by police. On 14 March, from early morning the armed forces began their operation and entered the villages. The entry of armed security forces was resisted by the protesters by forming a human shield. It is alleged that the protestors were mainly women. The police allegedly fired tear gas, rubber bullet and finally fired live ammunition against the protesters to disperse the protesters. Many villagers received bullet injuries by the police firing. It is also alleged that one of the protestors had a country bomb with him which exploded in the commotion killing him and also injuring others near him.

The state government admitted that the police fired at protesters. According to the statement issued by the State Home Secretary, Mr. Prasad Ranjan Roy seven to eight protesters were injured, while equal numbers of policemen were injured. However, according to the unconfirmed report from the locality, over 50 protesters were killed and over 70 persons were seriously injured by the police firing. Most of the casualties are reportedly of women. It is also alleged that some women were raped and some dead bodies were thrown into the river by the police. It is also alleged that the injured persons were carried into different destinations in an attempt to cover-up the actual number of casualties.

Meanwhile, the police took control over Gokulnagar and sporadic clashes between the protestors and the police are still continuing. The police allegedly fired on the procession of women at Nandigram. The state administration has begun repairing of roads and bridges towards to Nandigram.

At the moment, Nandigram is not accessible from the outside. The CPI (M) cadres are allegedly preventing people, journalists and activists from entering into Nandigram and harassing anyone who attempted to enter the area. It is reported that already two local journalists of news channel “Tara News” Mr. Gouranga Hazra and Mr. Bholanath Bijali, who were covering the incident are reportedly missing.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Since 3 January 2007, Nandigram has witnessed protests by local farmers, fanned by the opposition political parties in West Bengal after a notification was issued by authorities at the neighbouring Haldia port identifying their lands as sites to be acquired for the new chemical production project. This notification has since been withdrawn by the West Bengal government which has stated it would “exercise caution” while going ahead with the project.

The project reportedly requires at least 4,000 hectares of land for setting up a Special Economic Zone which would be jointly developed as a chemical hub by the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation and the Indonesia-based Salim group of companies. Another zone promoted by the same group is also reportedly planned in the Haldia area.

The protests at Nandigram followed unrest in Singur (West Bengal) in December 2006, when opposition parties and a number of farmers threatened with displacement by a state government move to acquire farm land for a Tata Motors automobile manufacturing project prompted demonstrations.

However, Singur’s 997-acre acquisition was nothing compared with what the government plans at Haldia. The area involved here is 14,500 acres and the plans are the establishing of a Special Economic Zone including a mega chemical and petrochemical hub, and a shipyard. 
The West Bengal state government plans to set up at least six other major industrial projects, including Special Economic Zones, in the state, necessitating the acquisition of at least 10,000 hectares of land. In a bid to boost national economic growth, India has been promoting Special Economic Zones across the country. The policy of acquiring land for such industrial projects has sparked protests from local communities fearing land displacement and threats to their sustainable livelihood.

To learn more about issues relating to Singur, please refer to our previous appeals:

UA-393-2006: INDIA: Police violently assaulted peaceful peasants in West Bengal
UP-224-2006: INDIA: Journalists and protesters criticizing the brutal attack on Singur village protesters are severely injured by the police
UP-231-2006: INDIA: Alleged rape and killing of a girl increase tensions in Singur

SUGGUESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and express your concern about this serious matter.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER