Strategy meeting on Life Imprisonment of Dr Sunilam
Date: 28th October 2012
Time: from 3 pm onwards
Venue: 5, B. R. Mehta Lane (Near K.
G. Marg) New Delhi-110001
Imprisonment of Dr Sunilam, a socialist politician from
Madhya Pradesh has been received with a sense of deep concern and dismay as
part of a trend to silence voices of public interest by misleading the
judiciary to save vested interests. Dr. Sunilam and two of his colleagues
Shesh Rao Suryavanshi and Prahalad Aggarwal of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Samiti
was demanding compensation for the destruction of their soya crop. The
administration booked 250 farmers in 66 fake cases. Dr. Sunilam was accused of
attempting to burn Inspector Sarnam Singh alive, of snatching a rifle from I.T.
S.N. Katare in order to kill him and of killing the fire brigade driver Dhir Singh
by assaulting him five times with a stone. The accusations are not true. The
truth is that the police brutally repressed the farmers. This decision of the
trial court, in fact, is a de facto decision of the neo-liberal establishment,
of which Congress and BJP are the leading agents, threatening genuine people
who oppose the corporate onslaught on farmers.
Dr. Sunilam, Shesh Rao Suryavanshi and Prahalad Aggarwal are now
imprisoned in the Bhopal jail.
Former legislator and President of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti,
Dr Sunilam has led Kisan Andolans. Dr Sunilam has been part of Indian People's
Movement against WTO and anti-corruption movement in the country.
On 12 January, 1998 was a black day for farmers’ movements.
The State Government brutally crushed the non-violent farmers’ movement using
the state police. Under a big conspiracy, State Police fired bullets and 24
farmers were martyred. In this incident, 150 farmers were injured due to bullet
fire. The farmers of the district Betul had given a memorandum to circle office
on 12 December, 1997. In this memorandum they demanded compensation for their
damaged crops. But their effort remained unheeded. The state police continued
its oppressive attitude towards farmers but on January 9, 1998 around 75000
farmers marched in Betul protested peacefully. The District Magistrate of Betul
came forward and proposed compensation of only Rs. 400 per acre. This little
amount was too insufficient to hurt the farmers’ sentiments. Agitated farmers
were on the crossroad and on 11th January, 1998 they siege the Multai tehsil
and all 450 villages of this tehsil. It was a historical Bandh. On 12th January
1998, farmer’s leader Dr. Sunilam decided to enter in tehsil but the state police
had already ordered to shoot farmers Dr. Sunilam reached tehsil office and
requested again and again to stop such firing but police authority did not heed
his request.
Harassment of social activists on fake pretexts and
conviction in fabricated cases has become a trend that merits the response of
the sane legal, social and political minds to defang the bite of the strategic
lawsuit against public participation.
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