Around 12 families comprising 42 persons all belonging to the extremely backward Mushar community have been housed in the old abandoned Pandu police station building and premises with 100 kgs of rice, sarees and lungis etc. SDO, Sadar, Rajesh Kumar Sah said, "Under orders of the DC Anjaneyulu Dodde they have been sheltered and given rice too."
These Mushars had their shanty dwellings on a piece of land at Murumatu village under the Pandu police station over the last 10 years as stated by Sadai Mushar in his FIR lodged with the Pandu police station on August 30.
According to the FIR these Mushars had to leave their dwelling place on August 29 when 12 identified people including the mukhiya of the Murumatu panchayat along with 100 to 150 unidentified people all belonging to the minority community reached their dwelling place and asked them to vacate the land.
The FIR read further their houses were ransacked and caste slur used against them. FIRs are 'made' and here too in this episode it is not an exception, said sources.
They were made to leave their dwelling place in two pick up vans for Loto village under Chhaterpur police station on August 29 only to return to Pandu police station the very next day August 30 to lodge the FIR.
Pandu police swung into action and arrested and jailed 3 of the 12 named accused including Mukhiya Israr Ahmad. Hunt is on for the remaining 9 named and scores of the unidentified people.
The land on which they were living belongs to the minority community, said the DC Palamu Anjaneyulu Dodde.
Dodde said, "The SDO has said that the land belongs to the minority community and the minority community has been paying its annual land rent regularly and the community has up-to-date rent receipts of the land as well."
Dodde said police took prompt action following the FIR lodged and the day the FIR was lodged August 30 police caught and jailed three of them.
Taj Mohammad, who is a resident of Murumatu village and also a functionary of the BJP minority cell Palamu told this correspondent that no coercion was used for the exit of the Mushars except that their dwellings were definitely destroyed all 'in good faith'.
On being asked as to what kind of this good faith is when it comes to destroying anyone's hut or house the BJP minority cell functionary said the Mushars went out quite willingly as normal agreement was reached in writing between the minority community and these people and the minority community thought these structures to go redundant after all with the passage of time.
However Mohammad agreed that it was too wrong to dismantle their huts by the minority community. Administration should have been intimated about this in advance. Mohammad said this dismantling gave the worst kind of twist to the whole issue of the exit of the Mushars.
Forty two of them thumbed their impressions for 500 rupees each that they received from the minority community. They further took 3,500 rupees for the tarpaulin and 2,400 rupees for the loss of asbestos sheets when their houses were destroyed, he added.
Again it was their choice to settle down at Loto village for which the minority community provided them with two pick up vans bearing all cost of fuel and expenses for the drivers etc.
Sources said the minority community at Murumatu was in a hurry. It wanted land to build one asbestos room for its already 5 room Madarsa there as only when this Madarsa would have 6 rooms minimum then only grant in aid from the Jharkhand Academic Council could be released to the Madarsa.
SDO sadar Rajesh Kumar Sah said he too heard about the room to be built for the Madarsa on this land.
Dodde said, "This episode is out and out a by-product of the issue of land. From where comes this tinge of the communalism in it? The way it has been painted is unfortunate. The administration is going ahead in this case within the frame of law of the land."
"I have directed the officials to locate and identify chunk of government land for these dalits, which when found would be settled in their names @ of 2 decimals to 3 decimals of the land depending upon the availability of the quantum of the land." added the DC.