A team of CPI(ML) leaders visited Madanpur of Deoria district in UP where an incident involving the murder of 22 year old Rahmatullah, following which an angry mob burnt the Madanpur thana and on the large scale atrocities on the people was reported. The team included state committee member Rajesh Sahni, Premlata, Ramkishor Verma and Omprakash Nishad. This fact finding team reported that two years ago also, a youth named Sabir had disappeared and his body had been found. Till date the police has neither revealed the fact of the murder nor initiated any action. Two years later the police continued to maintain same apathy following the disappearance and murder of Rahmatullah, that forced the people to become aggressive. While only a few elements were involved in the burning of the thana, the police resorted to large scale atrocities on people, rounding off, brutally beating them up and arresting them on serious criminal charges. People’s houses have been vandalised and their things destroyed. Several women were also brutally beaten and taken away by the police. Several have been injured following police atrocities, however, they are being denied treatment. A huge police contingent has been deployed outside Madanpur and women are not being able to go out even for their daily ablutions. The FIRs registered include names of even those people who were not present in Madanpur on the day of the incident.
Madanpur is Pathan Muslim dominated village with a population of over ten thousand. The village has a Kotiya Mohalla where the majority population is Ansari and who are very poor. Most of the people migrate abroad to find some work. A 22-year-old resident of this place Rahmatullah had been living in Mumbai for past 4 years doing welding work. On 4 November he had returned to his village and was to return on 31 December. On 30 December morning, he went out for his ablutions and never returned. In the evening when troubled by his disappearance, his family went to lodge a complaint in the station, they were advised to themselves search in nearby areas and ask their other relations. On 1 January, a constable visited their home to tell them that Rahmatullah had gone to Rudrapur to watch a match and will return. He said, Rahmatullah had told this to him. When he did not return for another couple of days, the family met the SP to intensify search.
On 4 January, Rahmatullah’s body was found near Rapta River. When this information reached Madanpur, hundreds of people reached there and carrying the dead body, they blocked the crossroad and started expressing anger against the police. On receiving no satisfactory response from the police, their anger was increased, also as this incident was similar to the one involving Sabir, where police even refuse to reveal the fact of his murder and had refused to act on the complaints of disappearance. The post mortem report of Rahmatullah makes it clear that he was murdered and his body thrown into river. There were injury marks on his head. The fact finding team met Rahmatullah’s family. The family stays in a small house with mud walls and tin shade covering the house. No one has any enmity with the family and Rahmatullah was known to be a simple youth with no bad company.
The police says that angry people burnt the station, burnt 6-7 vehicles and looted 19 rifles and 38 revolvers. The vandalism continued for three hours. The police force only 31 km away at the district headquarters took three hours to arrive! Following this incident, police atrocities began on the people and continue. Till now nearly 71 people have been arrested. Cases have been registered against one thousand nameless people and 11 people with names.
CPI(ML) leaders said that BJP is busy trying to give this incident a communal colour. They have been issuing statements such as the possibility of their being ISI hand in this incident to incite the people. On the other hand, the local Congress MLA, SP and BSP leaders have continued to remain silent, not even bothering to meet the injured.
