Dibrugarh/Guwahati, June 13: Showing no sign of repentance, the seven labourers who yesterday lynched a tea executive in Dibrugarh district have accused the managerial staff of ?oppression and injustice? reminiscent of colonial times.
With the mood of the labour community being defiant and payment of bonus ? always a thorny issue ? due three months from now, tea executives across Assam are bracing for more tense moments.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has constituted co-ordination committees at the district level to take up tea garden-related issues. The divisional commissioner of each region will be the chairman of each committee.
The six other members will be the deputy inspector general of police (range), the deputy commissioner, the superintendent of police, the assistant labour commissioner and a representative each of the tea association and the Asom Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS).
Officer on special duty in the chief minister?s office, Debojit Das, said the deputy commissioner of each district would convene a meeting every month. Minutes of such meetings will be sent to the chief minister.
The seven labourers who killed Mukul Dowerah, assistant manager at Nandanban tea estate, were arrested today but their demeanour indicated they were unrepentant. Aged between 18 and 25, they said labour unrest would continue until tea executives shed their allegedly colonial attitude.
All seven confessed to their crime, following which the police registered a case against them at Tengakhat police station under Section 302 of the IPC. ?I do not regret what I did. This will be a lesson for the oppressors, who treat us like dogs,? one of the labourers said.
On whether he knew the penalty for murder, he said, ?At the most, I will be hanged. But it will inspire my brothers and sisters to protest oppression in future.? He claimed Dowerah was rude to him and his co-conspirators, who had all been removed from the garden?s rolls for an unspecified reason sometime ago, when they approached the assistant manager with a request for reinstatement. ?He told us, ?You won?t get any job till I am here.?
The seven accused are Rajiv Koishap, Suresh Hemran, Bhagdeo Koishap, Shawan Koishap, Moida Demta, Diding Murah and Raju Rikhe. The labourers said the garden workforce had been denied even basic amenities.
Dowerah?s colleague Pradip Agramacharaya, however, refuted the allegation. ?The facilities in our garden may not be the best, but they are good,? he said.
The assistant manager said the garden management actually shared a good relationship with the labourers.
Secretary of the Nandanban unit of the ACMS, Mongol Rai, echoed him and advocated strict punishment to the seven labourers who killed Dowerah.
?I agree they had certain grievances, but this is not the way to solve any problem,? he said.
ACMS general secretary Madhusudan Khandait, who had yesterday condemned the incident, denied that his organisation had lost its grip on the labour community. ?We should also look beyond what has happened. ?Managers?, as the term suggests, should be capable enough to manage any situation in an amicable manner.?
Labourers of Sapoi tea estate, in Sonitpur district, had lynched two managers and set fire to their bodies on May 30.
?It seems we are no longer safe in tea estates. With only two or three officials against thousands of labourers, and without any security personnel, we are at their mercy,? an assistant manager hailing from Kerala said.
Chairman of the Assam Tea Planters? Association, Prabhat Bezbaruah, said the government should initiate steps to restore the confidence of managerial staff. A fact-finding team from the association today visited Nandanban tea estate.
A contingent of police and CRPF personnel has been deployed in the garden to prevent more violence.