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PRESS: Police Lathi Charge Slum People
National Alliance of People's Movements
February 12, 2005
National Alliance of People's Movements
Haji Habib Building,
Naigaon Cross Road Dadar (E), Mumbai - 400014
Email: napm@riseup.net
Mumbai (February 12, 2005):
In a daylong sequence of events, police lathi charged (cane beating)
a gathering of over 1200 people near the Deonar police station today
afternoon. The people were protesting the demolition of their houses
in Rafiq nagar slum area and were demanding the release of over
300 people who were arrested earlier the day. Most of them were
released in the afternoon, but nearly 30 people, mainly senior activists,
were re-arrested.
The people who are under arrest include, Medha
Patkar, Prakash Reddy of Communist Party of India, Raju Bhise of
NAPM, Vijaya Chauhan, Kalpana Gowda of Asha Ankur, Leena Joshi of
Apnalaya, Nitin More of Apli Mumbai, Shakil Ahmed of Nirbay Bano
Andolan and others from Rafiq nagar. They are lodged in Shivaji
nagar as well as Chirag nagar police stations.
They are booked under
sections 147, 143, 447 which are relate to rioting, illegal gathering
etc. The police mercilessly beat the people, who were trapped in
the gullies, near Deonar police station.
The number of people injured
in the lathi charge in not known at the release of this statement.
Rafiq nagar slum was reclaimed from a marshy land in 1996. There
were about 800 houses before demolition. The police, aided with
bulldozers, demolished the houses in last December. Since then,
the people were living in open and make shift locations. Rafiq nagar
is only one of the many slums, which was demolished by the government
in the past 2 months. Over 80,000 houses were demolished so far.
National Alliance of People's Movements condemn this undemocratic
action of the government and demand that all further demolitions
must stop immediately and all arrested persons should be released
immediately. Further, if the government is serious about checking
the growth of slums, stop displacing people and provide facilities
in the villages, including employment - in the hinterlands.
Contact: Pervin Jehangir: 022-22184779 Maju Varghese: 98923-85182
Joe Athialy: 98692-63407
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