Toiling away from home
The plight of Odia labourers in Andhra is sad. The story took a turn for worse when an Odia labourer was apparently beaten to death in an Andhra brick kiln…
PRADEEP BAISAKH, Odisha
Anjana and two sons attending the last rites of rupadhar bariha in village (Photo by Jatin Patra)
A migrant worker from Odisha Rupadhar Bariha, who was kept as bonded labour along with his family in a brick Kiln in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, was beaten to death by the owner of the kiln Jagan Seth. What was his fault? He wanted to go to his home in Solbandha village in Balangir district of Odisha!
Bariha , a tribal person, along with his wife Anjana and two minor sons went to Udaimal in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh before 6 years through a local labour contractor Tapi Harijan. Hardly did they know that they were ushered to a place which would eventually prove to be a death trap for them. They were assured by the labour Sardar to be given some advance money and regular wages for making bricks in the work place, but were given literally nothing. In stead, they were kept in bondage for six long years in the work place. They were regularly harassed, scolded to the fullest without check and beaten whenever they wished to go back home.
About two months before the time of incidence, Bariha had somehow managed to come to his home place to meet his family members in Solabandha. That was for the first time in six years he could come to village. As Bariha came alone, the owner of the kiln was not too worried as Ms Anjana and two sons were still in the kiln. Benudhar returned to the kiln, but with a mobile so that he could get in touch with the family back in Odisha.
April/May is the time when the migrant workers return to their home state from Andhra Brick Kilns. When the rest of the labourers started gradually heading for their native place, Bariha and family also showed their willingness to go home. But this time it was too much for the owner; both the owner and his son started mercilessly beating Benudhar with stick. When wife Anjana and the elder son Omprakash protested, they were pushed aside. After beating him, he was taken to his hut and laid there. The wife offered him some tea but Benudhar could not swallow it. Sinu, the son of the owner shouted the labourers who were witnessing the incidence. As all left back to work, Sinu and four five of his goons guarded Benudhar. This happened at around 5 pm. While at around 12 night, Anjana came to see her husband, to her utter dismay Benudhar was found with his neck tied with an iron wire which is hanging from the roof of the hut. Anjana came out of the hut and started shouting for help; ambulance was summoned by the owner and later, death was confirmed.
Was it a case of suicide or a murder? Balangir based Lawyer Asish Chandan who studied the evidence from the legal eyes says it may not be an incidence of suicide as ascertained from the circumstantial evidences. The height of the roof if only five feet, and Benudhar was kneeling while found dead with his neck tied from the roof top. “A person of five and half feet cannot hang himself from a roof of five feet height!” And Anjana suspects the hands of Binu, the son of the owner and his goons in the death of her husband as they were the people who guarded Benudhar near his hut all through.
After the death, the police came for inquiry but did not interact with any of the family members of Benudhar. They only spoke to the owner and went away. Anjana wanted to take the dead body of her husband to Odisha, but the owner did not agree. He also was not willing to leave the rest of the family members to go back to their village in Odisha, though eventually budged. “Seth left us after so much of request. He took our signature a paper where something was written in Telugu language which we could not read.”
Back in home, Anjana and her two sons were given shelter by her in laws. Several media and civil society people came to meet the family and discussed matter with them. The wider family was too worried of the visit of several people and repeatedly discuss on something that had left indelible wounds in the hearts of the wife and sons of Benudhar.
Unwilling to take legal recourse:
Labourers at work in a brick kiln (Photo by Pradeep Baisakh)
Some civil society members based in the district wanted to take the mater to the legal forum and give justice to the bereaved family. But the family was unwilling to file a FIR near the Balangir police. Sunadhar Bariha, the elder brother of Benudhar says “we are landless labourers. Where do we get the money to fight a case against the mighty owners based in Hyderabad” How can we go there to fight our case?” Anjana looks at us with a plain look, “ I do not want to go to Hyderabad again”. Sanjay Mishra, a social activist and some local journalists intimated the matter to the Collector of the district Sailendra Narayan Dey who immediately sanctioned 10,000 rupees from Red Cross for the family and promised sanctioning the benefits under National Family Benefit Scheme and work under MGNREGA. The Collector also sent the Sub-Collector of Patnagarh division to meet the family and give assurance for full support if the Anjana makes a written complaint of what happened to her husband. But the family reportedly did not show any trust on the administration.
Difficulty fighting Inter state legal battle:
Jatin Patra of a local NGO, who fought one case for a group of migrant labourers before, says “our past experience suggests that fighting a legal battle of inter state nature is extremely difficult more so when it comes to doing it for these highly vulnerable people of Odisha pitted against the mighty kiln owners of Hyderabad where the case is to be fought.”
It is quite an irony that an aggrieved family does not want justice for the crime committed to them of this gravity; so high is their vulnerability and so weak is our justice system!
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