"The police did
not see our serious condition, on the contrary, accused us"
My name is Ramasare. I am 27 years old. I am married. I am my father. I have
four children. My one daughter is physically and mentally unwell. I belong to
the Musahar caste and work in a brick kiln. I am a native of
village-Sikanderpur, Thana-Shivpur, District-Varanasi.
I can never forget
this incident in my life. This is from 11th May 2020. I was making bricks at
Sarju Marka brick kiln of Jalhupur. My wife Renu said that she wanted to go to
her house in Siswa, as she had sought a vow for my younger daughter Karishma in
Pandey Baba's temple. After listening to the wife's words, I agreed to go with
her. I went to my in-laws' house with my family. After taking a rest for some
time, I took garlands and sweets for offering in the temple. Then, I started
going to Pandeybaba's temple with wife and child. At that time, Ramesh Mama of
Basti was also with us.
Between three to
four o'clock, I reached near the temple. There I met my brother-in-law Chandan
and uncle Guddu. They were quarantined in the same nearby government school.
They were coming from the pond after defecating. In view of the corona disease,
we were maintaining a physical distance. Then Mintu Pandey of the village came
along with his five or six companions. He was swearing at us. He said,
"how dare you Mushars come to the temple premises and touch the hand
pump?" Chandan said that he was thirsty and drank water, on this Mintu
Pandey got furious and said, " you are talking back to me, you are a
Mushahar.
Saying this, he picked up a brick and hit me with it. It came on my nose
and mouth. It felt like a bad concussion. Blood started pouring out of my nose
like a fountain. I was about to be unconscious. Seeing my condition, my wife
started screaming. We started running to save our lives. Then those people
grabbed me and hit me on my chest. Blood started coming from my mouth, I fell
on the ground and fainted. What happened after that, I do not know. I came to
my senses after about four to five hours. I was at home at that time. My
in-laws were standing all around. My wife was crying. I didn't have enough
courage to say something. All the strength of the body was snatched away. At
that time I was lying on the bed like a cripple. I had never thought that we
would be given such a severe punishment for going to the temple.
If the people of the settlement did not reach on time, they would have killed
us. Those people were furious. Hearing the sound of screaming, the MGNREGA
workers of the nearby settlement started running towards the scene. Seeing them
coming, these people ran away. The people of the settlement took me to the
Dhaukalganj police post after loading me on a Sagdi. But there was no hearing.
I was lying unconscious in blood. The policeman present at the outpost said
that I am doing this drama to trap the Pandits. He asked the people to get me
treated at a private hospital. When I came to know about this, I was very sad.
What is my enmity with Pandits? How can the police make such a big allegation?
When my family members went to the police station to complain, they were
stopped by the policeman of the outpost on the way. Seeing no way out, everyone
went home with private medicine.
For two days I stayed in my in-laws' house. The treatment continued from the
nearby doctor. The brick kiln owner Pankaj Singh came to know about my
condition. He told me that you somehow reach the brick kiln, I will get you
treated. I got some courage on listening to his words. With the help of
in-laws, I went to the brick kiln. The owner got me treated at Dr. Surjan with
the money I had earned. For a month, I stayed in bed. Every other third day I
would get medicines of rupees three hundred. Seeing all this, I was getting
very upset. My wife was getting worried about our small children. She used to
watch me too and work at the brick kiln. It was a very difficult day. Those
people not only beat me up but also my two-wheeler. I cry and tremble when I
think of it now.
A few days ago, the owner's account was done here. In which Rs 30,000/- was
coming out. I thought I would take some more loans and build a house to live in
the village. I don't have a house to live in. I stay in the kiln all season
long. When I go to the village, I repair a wooden house, which is very
uncomfortable for the children. It is more problematic in the rainy
season. We have not got government housing in the village. Father had got
Indira Awas long back. That too has become dilapidated. I feel sorry that all
my money has gone. I feel pain in my chest even now, which stops me from
working like before.
Due to the non-hearing of the incident, a complaint was made to the National
Human Rights Commission, New Delhi with the help of the PVCHR of Varanasi. The
commission took cognizance of the matter. After fifteen days of the incident,
Badagaon police started looking for us. Our case has been registered. In the
following days, my statement was taken twice at CO Baragaon. All this gave me
solace and encouragement. On 13 January 2021, we learned from Chandan that in
the office of CO Baragaon, we were asked for our Aadhar card and bank passbook.
When we went there, we were told that our name has been cut off. Saying that
the police started making fun of me. It was very painful to see. Nobody listens
to the poor.
After this incident,
a fear has settled inside me. I do not want to go anywhere as I feel insecure
all the time. There is no hearing anywhere. Those people are domineering and
moneyed, they can harm us in any way.
Whenever I try to
sleep at night, I wake up scared. My whole body and chest hurt a lot. I keep
thinking about the incident all the time. I feel sad that the police did not
see our serious condition and on the contrary, put the blame on us.
I want that strict action should be taken against those who made me go through
all this. So that, I can get justice.
