Ten years on, Tapasi’s family await justice

Fourteen people had laid their lives protesting against the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government’s oppression on farmers to set up the Nano factory on the multi-crop land in Singur.

The teenage girl Tapasi Malik was burnt to death after being allegedly raped. Her body was found on the acquired plot for the Nano project and it gave a momentum to the movement against acquisition of land. Again, 26-year-old Rajkumar Bhul had succumbed to his injuries that he had received after getting beaten up by the police. His mother wrote an open letter to the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya holding him responsible for her son’s death.

Mother of both Tapasi and Rajkumar were sitting side by side on the dais of Singur Diwas. Tapasi’s mother Molina Malik broke into tears as soon as she recollected how mercilessly her daughter was tortured. Her husband Manoranjan Malik came in front to support his wife and tried to console her. 

Manoranjan and Rajkumar’s mother both demanded justice. “See, today I am very happy as the people of Singur have got justice. But I always remember the sacrifice of my daughter and seek justice. CBI had arrested CPI(M) zonal committee secretary Suhrid Dutta and an activist of the party Debu Malik in this connection. They were convicted by the lower court, but later got bail from the Calcutta High Court,” said Manoranjan adding that he wants nothing more after the people of Singur have got back their land apart from justice for his daughter.

The sacrifice of both Tapasi and Rajkumar were remembered by the Chief Minister when she was addressing the gathering. She also recollected that the police then had kept a two and a half year old girl Payel Bag behind the bars. Payel is now a teenage girl and she was also on dais on Wednesday.

Family members of the martyrs were given seats on the front row on the dais of Singur Diwas. 

Banerjee spoke to them. She over and again recollected the fight the family members of the martyrs had given even after losing a near and dear one. Instead of giving up the fight even after being repeatedly threatened, they built up protest and finally got its result after a decade.