January 6, 2007

Press Release

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Member of Parliament Brinda Karat met the families of the victims in Nithari village in Noida today along with members of the Delhi State Committee of the Party, Vijendra Sharma, Mohan Lal, Baldev Singh and  K.M.Tewari. The Party in the last week had organized three demonstrations and delegations to the authorities demanding a CBI inquiry. Brinda Karat also met the District Magistrate Ajay Chauhan and urged him to ensure compensation to the five families whose children have been identified but are still being denied compensation. Given the increasing number of parents coming to the area with details of missing children, she called upon the DM to immediately collate the number of children missing from the district in the last two years and monitor the details of each case. 

The country expects that the truth behind the horrific Nithari killings will be brought out now that the Mulayam Singh Government has entrusted, though belatedly the task to the CBI. The CBI should ensure that it is a time-bound enquiry, which looks into all the aspects including the suspicion of the involvement of a bigger gang linked to the organ trade. The criminal negligence of the Noida police into the investigation of the missing children and adolescents has been compounded by the utterly insensitive and callous manner in which the UP Government has responded to the national outrage such as the statement of PWD Minister Shri Shivpal Singh Yadav that it is a “choti moti” issue that happens everywhere.

It is a matter of shame and condemnation that even though 29 children and adolescents were reported missing from the village in the last two years, the administration showed criminal indifference. This is undoubtedly because the missing children were from extremely poor families of mainly migrant workers from Bengal, Bihar etc. The class bias and prejudice against the poor by the administration is clearly shown up by the callous approach to these terrible killings. It is essential now for the Government to end the delay in giving compensation to the affected families. At least five families, already traumatised by the killing of their children are further affected because of the bureaucratic delays in giving them, the compensation. This should be done without delay.

Noida and the National Capital Region area are home to many communities who come to the area for a living. Extremely vulnerable because of their poverty and cultural isolation, these communities are targets of terrible abuse and human degradation. It is incumbent on respective Governments of the NCR region to work out a policy to monitor areas where these communities live, to provide them basic amenities and most importantly to ensure some protection for the children of working mothers through the provision of crèches and anganwadis in the areas. This issue will be raised with the Union   Home Minister.