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An ageing mother lost
a son. A woman, with a new-born child, lost her husband. A four-year-old his
father. And a youth his sister. There are hundreds of such tales in every nook
and corner of Andhra Pradesh, where, the police, goaded on by the ruling
classes, are on the prowl to eliminate the cadres of revolutionary parties.
In spite of losing
their kith and kin and constant harrassment by the police in the police state of
AP, the families were determined to stand by the revolutionary movement, which
they knew was the cherished goal of the martyrs. As many as 100 families from
different parts of the state participated in a huge rally in Hyderabad on August
28 protesting against the fake encounter killings by police during the last 30
years of revolutionary movement. There were parents, spouses, children and
friends of martyrs who had laid down their lives, striving to herald a new dawn
for the poor and downtrodden.
The families of the
martyrs narrated heart rending stories to the people and the press who gathered
at Tuljabhavan in the city on August 28. They related their relationship with
the deceased and how the police killed them in fake encounters. The programme
which began at 11 a.m. went on till four in the evening.
The mother of
Madireddi Sammi Reddy, popularly known as Ramakanth in the coal belt, related
how her son was brutally murdered by the police on June 23, 1996. Ramakanth, as
the secretary of Singareni Karmika Samakhya, had organised colliery workers and
made the organisation a force to reckon with. "He had joined the party while he
was working in the mines. He was with the party for over 16 years. I met him for
the last time in the forest three years prior to the brutal killing,’’ Prameela
says, fighting back emotions that welled up in her eyes.
"Hundreds of police
personnel surrounded the house in which he was taking shelter. But he didn’t
lose heart and held fire single-handedly for many hours, killing a sub-inspector
and a constable. Unable to contain his fury, the police made a hole in the slab
and poured petrol and set him ablaze. But my son continued to fight until such
time that it was impossible to carry on and shot himself in the temple,’’ she
said, reminiscing the hard days.
"After my son’s
death, the police would descend on my house on every other day and harrass me
and my daughter-in-law (Ramakanth’s wife). I told them they cannot browbeat
me,’’ said Prameela. "Earlier I used to have only one son. But now I have
hundreds of them,’’ she said.
Ramakanth’s wife
Sunanda remembered her husband who, she says, had last visited her house 12
years ago. When I asked him how could I finance our children’s education, he
advised me to take a leaf from his mother’s life. "She took up the
responsibility of the family of five after my father’s death and brought us up.
You’ve only two children. Look out for a livelihood and look after them,’’ was
his refrain, according to Sunanda.
Karuna, the wife of
Comrade Kishan Rao, recollected her association with her husband, who, along
with squad commander Bhupati and Jayaprakash, was killed by Kattula Sammaiah in
a covert operation. Terming Sammaiah, his wife Shobha and Devender betrayers,
Karuna wondered how Sammaiah, whom she fed umpteen times, could do such a thing.
"I would keep my
children away whenever their father visited our home,’’ she said. Asked to
explain, Karuna said: "Had I allowed them to meet their father it would have
been very difficult for him to put his mind on his work.’’
The mother of Sheik
Imam, another slain comrade of Budharaopet of Warangal district too was there.
"Police electrocuted him and dumped his body on railway tracks to cover up their
crime,’’ she said, adding that Imam had rejoined the party after his release
from jail. "When I asked him to stay back he said he would be targetted even if
he were to remain overground,’’ she recalled. "Hadn’t my son stood for a good
cause? I don’t understand why they are killing people who are working for
creating a better society,’’ she says.
These are only a few
accounts of agony. There are many more. What moved the gathering, including the
press, was the grit and courage shown by the kin of the martyrs in the face of
severe oppression.
This rally was
organised by the United Struggle Committee Against Fake Encounters (USCAFE) as a
part of their protest programme launched in March. USCAFE poses a set of
questions and demands to the government and various political parties going to
the September polls.
The committee asks
the parties:
1) To spell out
their stand on fake encounters.
2) To condemn the
killing of Naxalites in fake encounters
3) To order
judicial probes into all fake encounter killings and punish the culprits.
4) To book all
encounter cases under Culpable Homicide (Section 302).
The committee said
that no political party has a right to seek election or remain in power if they
could not stop the fake encounter killings.
There was an
impressive rally from Bagh Lingampalli Park to Indira Park in the city in which
hundreds of relatives and friends of martyrs, intellectuals, civil rights
activists and cultural activists participated, raising slogans against police
atrocities and fake encounters.
The rally culminated
in a public meeting at Indira Park. The meeting was conducted by Ratnamala,
convenor of USCAFE and president of APCLC, and presided over by M T Khan,
executive member of the APCLC.
Representatives of
New Democracy, Praja Pratighatana, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (S) also
addressed the gathering and rebuked the state and the police for fake
encounters.
AILRC secretary
Gaddar, APCLC secretary Prof. Seshaiah, Telangana Jana Sabha convenor Bhoomaiah,
Jayaramudu of Udyogakranthi and Virasam executive committee member Varavara Rao
addressed the gathering. The speakers exhorted the people to ask the leaders of
political parties, when the latter approach them seeking their votes, to condemn
fake encounters.
There were cultural
programmes by Praja Kala Mandali and other cultural organisations. Gaddar
rendered the popular song on the martyrs, Holi holilaranga holi.....
— Sagar, Our Special Correspondent in
Hyderabad
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