Geeta Mukherjee, Gaya Singh inducted
Chaturanan dropped from CPI panel

NEW DELHI, Oct 31 (PTI) — A Former Union Minister, Mr Chaturanan Mishra, who opposed the Communist Party’s line on imposition of President’s rule in Bihar, was today dropped from the reconstituted Central Secretariat of the party, into which two other veterans Geeta Mukherjee and Gaya Singh were inducted.

"The election by the National Council was unanimous,’’ Mr A B Bardhan said at a press conference here.

During the Bihar controversy, Mr Mishra had supported dismissal of the RJD government but Mr Bardhan maintained that "he (Mishra) told us he is with the party line".

He said two or three new members had been elected during every party congress. "This time also two persons have joined the secretariat. What is so surprising?" he said, adding it is not a "life post" for anyone.

Denying that a former Home Minister Mr Indrajit Gupta, had offered to step down, he said "even if he had offered, we would not have agreed. He is the leader of our parliamentary group and cannot be kept out of the Central Secretariat."

To a question if Ms Mukherjee’s induction had anything to do with electing more women members following the controversy in the CPM Politburo, Mr Bardhan retorted "this is very unfair to Ms Geeta Mukherjee. She has been an MP for four terms. I always said she happens to be a woman but a leader of men."

He said while Ms Mukherjee had been a party member for 56 years, Mr Gaya Singh had been in the CPI since his student days in 1960.

The nine-member reconstituted central secretariat of the CPI comprises Mr Bardhan, Mr Indrajit Gupta, Mr J Chittaranjan, Mr N R Dasari, Mr D. Raja, Mr Atul Kumar Anjaan, Mr Shameem Faizee, Ms Geeta Mukherjee and Mr Gaya Singh.

Mr Bardhan charged the BJP with giving a field day to hoarders, black marketeers and wholesale dealers by not taking action against them and allowing export of onions and said the government alone was to be blamed for the rising prices.

The CPI would hold cycle and jeep yatras in 450 districts, where the party had its committees from November 1 to 11 to take the issue to people, he said and added that the national platform of mass organisations had called an All-India strike on December 11.

Villagers allege police terror
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

SADALPUR (Hisar), Oct 31 —The police and residents of this small village of the Mandi Adampur assembly segment appear to be heading for a confrontation with both parties levelling charges of excesses against each other.

On the night of October 25, policemen Rajinder Singh, Raghubir Singh and Mohinder Singh of the Adampur police station raided the house of Dhamkal Ram for his alleged involvement in illegal liquor trade.

All three were reportedly held captive by the family members of Dhamkal Ram. Some villagers allegedly beat them up. Rajinder Singh, however, managed to escape and reported the matter to the police. The other two captives were set free after a posse of policemen gheraoed the house of Dhamkal Ram.

According to villagers they held the police hostage as they had been "instigated" by liquor trader Bhoop Singh who, according to the villagers, was accompanying the policemen during the raid.

On October 27 several policemen accompanied by two policewomen cordoned off the house of Dhamkal Ram. Two of the three women inside the house of managed to give the slip to the policemen.

The third, Bimla was spotted by the police party but she took shelter in an adjacent house belonging to Jai Narain. Jai Narain's son, Subhash, who was reportedly standing outside his house was dragged to the police vehicle for sheltering Bimla.

After sometime the police managed to evict Bimla from the house. She was mercilessly thrashed by SHO Mohinder Singh while the two policewomen stood mute spectators.

An elderly neighbour, Jaman, tried to intervene. This was enough to provoke the wrath of the policemen. They started beating him up as well.

Jaman, who had lost his son about three months back, was on his way to attend his ailing daughter. When the daughter came to know about the "arrest" of her father, she according to the villagers, died of shock.

On October 28, Bimla and Jaman were produced in court. While Bimla was granted bail, Jaman was denied the same. He was granted bail on October 29. Subhash was released reportedly at the instance of Home Minister Mani Ram Godara.

The villagers allege that the police have let loose a reign of terror. They allege that the police is acting in vengeance. They deny that they beat up the two policemen and say they only wanted to hand them over to the SP or the Deputy Commissioner as they were acting as "henchmen" of Bhoop Singh.

There is no information about the whereabouts of Dhamkal Ram and his family members. Nothing is known about Bimla who got bail on October 28.

The Senior Superintendent of Police, Hisar, Mr Manjit Singh Ahalawat talking to TNS denied charges of police excesses. He said, the police was acting according to law. He pointed out that it were the villagers who had held two policemen hostage.

Communist leader Prithvi Singh Gorakhpuria, trade union leader Banwari Lal Bishnoi and Mr Paras Ram, a retired DSP of the Intelligence Bureau, have formed a committee to take up the matter with the Home Minister.