Jharkhand Firing: Fear In Villages At Centre Of Anti-Land Acquisition Protests

Hazaribagh: Most homes in the villages of Dandi Kala and Sindwari, in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, remain locked a week after four villagers died in police firing during anti-land acquisition protests. According to those who remain, many have run away fearing police action.

Karinath Ram, a small farmer, whose 17-year-old son Ranjan Das was killed by a police bullet while he was going to school, is among the few who stayed back.

A broken Karinath Ram is unable to make sense of the tragedy.

"I used to send him to school every day. Sometimes he used to even go on his own. Maybe if he had not gone to school on Saturday, he would still be here," he said.

Ranjan was a bright student who wanted to become an engineer. He had stayed away from the protests in the village.

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"Ranjan stayed away from the protests, like the rest of my family. We never went near the protest. Why did this have to happen to us?" Ranjan's elder brother Ramvriksh Ram asked.

The local administration has denied allegations that the police are targeting villagers.

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"The villagers should cooperate with the police during the enquiry, and live there without fear," said Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla.

NDTV had reported how the police opened fire on protesting villagers Saturday when they demanded the release of local Congress leader Nirmala Devi. She was leading protests for more compensation for the farmers, in line with the new Land Acquisition Act, after the National Thermal Power Corporation took over their lands. The police say they were forced to open fire only as a last resort.

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"When officers were being beaten, we were forced to open fire. We did so from a distance of 50 metres. Maybe some (bullets) hit the torso instead of lower limbs," senior police officer Bhimsen Tutu told NDTV.

However the villagers say that the police opened fire without any warning, and they used live ammunition and not rubber bullets.

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Hazaribagh legislator and senior BJP leader Yashwant Singh has demanded a probe into the police firing.

"This is a very sad incident. Even those who were not a part of the agitation were killed. I will make an appeal to the government to ensure that the truth comes out," he said.