By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: For the poverty-stricken Bhajanpur village in Forbesganj, “we will recommend proper rehabilitation and livelihood,” said Wajahat Habibullah, Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities. In an exclusive interview with Mumtaz Alam Falahi of TwoCircles.net at state Guest House in Patna on 22nd June, NCM chief, who had visited the village a day before, also talked about the gruesome police firing, poor reports of the state authorities and possibility for an amicable solution to the dispute. Excerpts:
What prompted you to travel from Delhi to Bhajanpur? (On June 3, 2011, police had opened fire on villagers killing four of them).
We were deeply shocked by what had happened here. People came to seem me and I received many calls and faxes from Araria in which they highlighted the apathy of the state government and said no body was taking notice of the incident. I sought report from the state government and local administration. The Araria SSP defended the police action in his report which was of course expected. The state Home Secretary did not give explanation except this that they were planning for a judicial probe. Given this response, we felt it necessary to come and see ourselves what is the situation here. Earlier many groups and NGOs had come to meet me over the police firing. They included people from JNU and TwoCircles.net and people from ANHAD besides film director Mahesh Bhatt.
When you visited the poverty-stricken Bhajanpur and met the people and when they narrated their stories of sorrow, what was your first feeling?
There was a sense of shock and sadness on what had happened. After all, they are citizens of our country. I heard them and discussed the issue with the administration and the company owners also and I think they can come to an amicable solution that does not discourage the industry and also help the local people to prosper.
What would you recommend to the state government on compensation and proper probe?
The detailed recommendation will come only after we study all documents and CDs we collected. We also made notes when people narrated their story. We have got petitions also. So the final report will take 10-15 days.
Regarding compensation, we have discussed it with the state authorities. We will also made recommendation on this count. What would form the compensation we will discuss it among ourselves. But that compensation may not be in the form of cash or money. We will recommend livelihood and rehabilitation of the local people.
About proper probe, I think the judicial probe is a proper probe. We wanted a time limit to the judicial probe and the authorities said its report would come in six months. The Chief Secretary also said that it could be in less than six months.