[Reader-list] Release Debolina Chakrabarti, a social activist and people’s leader! - CRPP Statement

[asit das]

*Release Debolina Chakrabarti, a social activist and people’s leader! -
CRPP Statement*

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
185/3 Fourth Floor, Zakir Nagar, New Delhi-110025
Press Release
17 April 2012

*Free six other activists imprisoned for their participation in the
Nonadanga anti-eviction struggle!*

On 8th April 2012, a large police force arrested 69 persons from the
Nonadanga area of East Kolkata when they were protesting against the
eviction of hundreds of people, many of whom were forced to migrate and set
up their abodes in that area after the Aila natural disaster. Among the
protesters were those who fell victims to this eviction drive initiated by
the Mamata Banerjee-led government — men, women and children, as also some
activists belonging to different democratic organizations, who thought it
just to stand by the side of the victims and join their struggle for
rehabilitation. In late evening, all but seven persons were released on PR
bond. Among those arrested were Debolina Chakrabarti, Debjani Ghosh,
Abhignan Sarkar, Prof. Partha Sarathi Roy, Dr. Siddhartha Gupta, Babun
Chattopadhyay and Shamik Chankraborti.

They were produced in court next day and all were remanded to police
custody till 12th April. On 12th when they were produced, all of them were
sent to jail custody till 21st April in the Nonadanga case. Surprisingly,
in the evening when lawyers on the side of the accused have left or were
about to leave, the CID put up papers in a secretive manner for the police
remand of Debolina Chakrabarti in three other cases — two of which are old
and allegedly connected with incidents that supposedly took place in
Nandigram and Bishnupur. The magistrate granted the prayer without
listening to the response from the side of lawyers who stood by the
accused. When it became known, there were protests from the side of other
prisoners who took the stand that Debolina should not be taken for police
remand and that they would not leave the court for jail unless all seven
were taken together. Their resistance continued for some time until
Debolina was forcibly taken alone by the CID in a police car to Bhabani
Bhawan for interrogation. The other six prisoners were sent to Alipur
Central Jail.

Debolina was tagged in a murder case under UAPA.

The story behind the Nandigram case is this. According to the police, one
letter allegedly written some years ago by one ‘Debu’ to one Madhusudan
Mandal, an alleged Maoist leader (now in jail) during the previous regime
when the Nandigram movement was on. The police, without furnishing any
evidence, alleged that this ‘Debu’ was none other than Debolina
Chakrabarti. One wonders why a person allegedly having links with some
underground organization should use one’s own nickname? Should the use of
this name, if at all, itself not mean that this so-called ‘Debu’ could only
be someone else and not this Debolina Chakrabarti? There is no evidence
whatsoever with the police to establish that the said person ‘Debu’ is
Debolina. Debolina had been with the people’s movement for quite some
years, functioning openly and participating in various mass movements that
took place from time to time. She was never arrested earlier. Now she has
been picked up during her participation in the Nonadanga anti-displacement
movement and tagged in that earlier case for which charge-sheets had
already been submitted.

The fact is that the police under the previous Buddhadev-led regime issued
threats to arrest her under the draconian UAPA. But protests from different
quarters as also hunger strikes started by her and other activists at
College Square thwarted such attempts. The new government under Mamata
Banerjee – undoubtedly threatening to surpass the brutality and
vindictiveness of the CPI(M)-led government – picked up the torn shoes left
by her predecessor and completed the process by booking her under this
draconian act.

Who is this Debolina Chakrabarti, whom Mamata Banerjee is unable to face
politically and whom she has now sent to prison? Debolina was a student of
the International Relations Department of Jadavpur University. She left her
studies to carry on democratic movements and stood by the side of the
people. She was associated with the Singur anti-land grab movement that had
prepared the ground for Mamata to come to power. When the people of
Nanigram raised their voice against the formation of SEZs and Chemical hubs
under the notorious Salem industrial group, she went there and took part in
the people’s heroic struggle launched by the Bhumi Ucched Protirodh
Committee (BUPC) against displacement from their land and habitats and was
also instrumental in forming the Matangini Mahila Samiti (MMS). The MMS was
a women’s forum that fought against patriarchy, against consumption of
liquor, against CPM hermads, and was associated with the day-to-day
struggles against all onslaughts carried out by Lakshman Seth-Binoy
Konar-Sushanta Ghosh-Ashok Pattanayak-Tapan-Sukur-Naba Samanta group. In
this struggle, the TMC, CPI and other political forces played their part
within the BUPC.

After coming to power, Mamata Banerjee turned her heat against the ongoing
peoples’ movements and initiated a slander and intimidation campaign by
denouncing the Matangini Mahila Samiti as a ‘satanic brigade’. The police
as usual described Debolina as a ‘Maoist’ who could be detained, tortured,
humiliated and made a prisoner at will. Such a person has now been booked
under the UAPA in a most heinous manner. It is crystal clear that the
intelligence officials would subject Debolina to brutal mental and physical
torture and send her to prison to languish there for as many years as
possible. Should we allow such injustice to be done by this vindictive,
cruel and anti-people chief minister of West Bengal? Debolina has started a
hunger strike to protest against the unjust incarceration and slapping of
UAPA on her. We appeal to all justice-loving and freedom-loving people of
the country to raise their voice against the imposition of the UAPA on her
on cooked-up charges and demand the unconditional release of Debolina
Chakrabarti and six other prisoners arrested for standing in solidarity
with the people of Nonadanga and raising their voices against injustice.

SAR Geelani
Working President

Amit Bhattacharyya
Secretary General

Rona Wilson
Secretary, Public Relations