Their houses burned down, their lives in a mess, a group of villagers from Neori came looking for a ray of hope at the weekly Janta Darbar here on Wednesday. They urged Rural Development Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda to ensure that the real culprits are brought to justice and those wrongly subjected to atrocities get their normal lives back.
Violence erupted in Neori village under BIT Mesra outpost after kiln owner Naseem Ansari was allegedly hacked to death by a land broker on Monday last week. Money and jewellery were looted and several houses, motorcycles and auto-rickshaws torched by an irate mob went on avenging the murder.
“Apprehend the real culprits and help those spending their days under open skies of such unfair hardships,” pleaded Naseema Khatoon before Munda on behalf of the 45 Neori residents who accompanied her to the public court and those back at the village.
“Since our houses were razed by rioters, two to three families are forced to live under one roof. My auto-rickshaw, the sole source of income was destroyed too. We requested some monetary aid so that we can rebuild our lives,” said Mohammad Miraj, Naseema’s husband.
“Police forces have been called back from our village. We are living in a constant fear for our lives,” he added.
Hearing their pleas, Rural Development Minister Munda called up police officials investigating Ansari’s murder and ordered them to visit the village to take stock of the situation there. He also promised compensations to the villagers after assessing the situation.
A group of Malhor tribals from Hehal Basti under Gutwa police station in Ramgarh also came before the Minister requesting that their 12.5 acres of land is returned to them. They blamed that their land was appropriated for setting up a sponge factory, which is now causing health complications for them.
“We are presently living beside the sponge iron factory. Many from us came down with tuberculosis and skin ailments due to the dust and discharge from the factory. TB alone claimed 22 lives from our hamlet since the factory was started,” said Surinder Malhor.
“Some villagers gave up the land without our permission and now want us to leave. People from the factory and goons from the village have warned us against lodging a complaint. We have met BDO and CO of the region but in vain,” Santeshwar Malhor said.
listening to this, Munda assured them that he will take up the matter strongly with Deputy Commissioner, Ramgarh.
Munda attended 110 grievances that were registered at the Janta Darbar on Wednesday. “Written and oral instructions are given to responsible officers according to the complaints we receive here. Around 70 per cent complaints are sorted out, whereas regulations and situation are taken into account in the rest, which takes some time,” he said.
