Bathinda cops single out Bengali, Muslim migrants

Bathinda cops single out Bengali, Muslim migrants
VIKAS KAHOL

BATHINDA, SEPT 27: On September 13, the SSP office, Bathinda, put out a wireless message asking all Station House Officers and gazetted officers to evict jhuggi-dwellers and those occupying government land from the district, "khas karkey Bangali khanabadosh (especially the Bengali nomads)". It also asked officers to ensure that "Mohammadians (sic) be properly probed and a daily report be sent to the police control room" till further orders.

Two days later, police carried out a lathicharge on sleeping labourers at Rampura Phul, about 20 km from here, in which 30 labourers were injured. The police were led by Rampura Phul DSP Surjit Singh Khosa. About 100 people were also allegedly deported by the police on the same night, provoking demonstrations by the labourers.

A copy of the the wireless message has since been procured by The Indian Express. When contacted Jitendra Kumar Jain, SSP, Bathinda district, said the copy "seems to be on official stationery and is a document of a secret nature". However, he denied that the message pertained to any incident that took place at Rampura.

Asked about the reference to deporting jhuggi dwellers, he said that it referred to persons occupying Government land. He said the mention of Mohammadians and Bengalis referred only to gypsies from those communities. However, he is overlooking a simple point of grammar - the comma between Bengali

and khanabadosh

clearly means that they were separate entities in the eyes of the police. Also, Muslims were referred to in another context and even there not as an adjective for vagabonds.

The incident at Rampura Phul had been highlighted in the media. Following this, several political leaders, including MP Bhan Singh Bhaura, had alleged that the incident was an example of targeted victimisation of the migrant labour carried out on the orders of the top police officials in the district.

The police had then ordered a departmental inquiry by Kapil Dev, SP, Operation. The inquiry held the DSP guilty of beating up migrants and recommended his transfer. The DSP was later sent to the Indian Reserved Battalion.