Tag: Nigeria News

As he usually does in the morning, Madu greets his listeners. Madu runs his broadcast from a community radio station, Benor FM Radio, located in a remote area in Bukit Suban Village.

The village is located in the Air Hitam District of Sarulangun Regency in theJambi Province.
Benor Radio was initiated by an NGO called the Indonesian Conservation Community Warsi.
Benor Radio, that started its broadcast since 2013, priorities its radio program forthe Anak Dalam, who are also known as the Orang Rimba ethnic group.

The group is scattered amongst the Bukit Dua Belas National Park area.
The Orang Rimba is a native Jambi community who live nomaidcally in the forest as a group.
Madu is a native broadcaster from the Orang Rimba ethnic group. Beside Madu, there are five other native jungle people who are active as broadcasters.

For the children of the Suku Anak Dalam, it is not easy to learn to be an announcer. However, their willing attitudes have now made them broadcasters whose voices are eagerly awaited by The Orang Rimba in the forest and local residents.

“Well, the first difficulty was learning to operate a laptop. When I first broadcasted, I spoke stiffly, but after two weeks it went smoothly,” said Madu.
By broadcasting the radio show to cover an area of 30 kilometres, Benor Radio program can be listened to by 80 percent of the entire 2,546 jungle people in the national park area.

In addition to fighting inequality and enabling equal access to media and information, Benor Radio was established to deliver information to people who live in the forest and who are difficult to reach physically.

“To get information, Orang Rimba access is very limited. By the radio, it can provide information to the jungle people and the radio can be a learning medium for them,” said Jauharul Maknun, responsible person for Benor FM Radio.

“Benor is also expected to become a media platform that bridges the gap between the jungle people and the surrounding community, reducing the negative stigma of outside communities towards the jungle people. we can provide understanding to the outside community about the jungle people,” He added.
For The Orang Rimba, radio is the only medium they are able to get information from.

“I got the information about earthquakes, floods, and also elections (through the radio). So we got the information about who wins and loses in the election,” said Perabung, as member of Suku Anak Dalam.
Moreover, Benor Radio provides information about the arrival of health workers to the national park area.
This is important to the Orang Rimba whos secluded and nomadic livs in the forest often rob them of health facilities.

This story by Perwiranta, Syahrudin, Amir Musa and Sandy Arizona was originally published on ANTARA Indonesia News Agency in May 2019.

BEHIND THE STORY

Suara Dari Rimba is a documentary video made by the ANTARA TV team in May 2019. The documentary video is about the lives of the Anak Dalam tribe, or who are also known as the Orang Rimba, whose live nomadically inside the forest area. The current presence of Radio Benor is their only source of information. The Anak Dalam tribe community has been limited to receiving information and in voicing their anxiety. Their forest home is still being destroyed. The Orang Rimba have been pushed from their homes in Bukit Duabelas National Park because of deforestation. The team took a six hour road trip to where they stayed. It was challenging for the team due to the rocky and unpredicatble roads. There was also a lack of facilities as the park was situated in a very remote area. The place and the people were isolated from any mode of transportation and cut off from any communication with the outside world. Thus, those who lived there spoke in a different dialect as they only used their native language. We therefore required a translator. They used firewood to cook simple food from the jungle, such as cassava, and drank water from streams. Living in such a closed and secluded area, they were quite protective and wary when our team arrived for the documentary video.

Looking at Mr Innocent Okparah, as a smile lights up his handsome fair face, it is hard to imagine that just some months ago, he was battling to stay alive in the hospital.

But that was exactly the case. For almost two weeks, Okparah danced between earth and the great beyond.

But he is now full of life.

Okparah pulled up a chair, sat down and looked straight into the eyes of Juliana, our crime journalist. His smile slipped as recollections flashed through his mind.

Settling further into his chair, he recounted his bloody encounter with the Americans and military men, saying: “I was beaten with guns, boots and fists. It was just too much for me. I couldn’t fight back. They overpowered me.”

Okparah may have forgotten many unpleasant events, but he will never forget the day armed soldiers – allegedly working for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) – gave him the beating of his life.

The assault intensified after Okparah attempted to use his smart phone to take snapshots of the soldiers and BEDC officials. For his temerity, he had to spend weeks in the hospital fighting to live.

Aside from Okparah, other victims have also claimed to have experienced the same encounter with soldiers and white men. BEDC officials also tried to disconnect the power supply to their homes.

Despite sounding irrational, the beatings were discovered to be over the struggle for possession and ownership of electrical wires, ladders, power disconnections and estimated billings.

Consumers wanted their electrical wires handed back to them after they were disconnected, insisting they had purchased them. However, the BEDC refused to release the items.

For many Nigerians, it was abnormal to see DISCO officials, armed soldiers and white men coming to disconnect power supplies , but residents of Benin, Edo State, alleged that it was an everyday occurrence, which they had now got used to.

The acronym DISCO refers to electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria.
Our correspondent gathered that many electric consumers are petrified of going to the media, fearful that the soldiers might pay them an unscheduled visit.
This was even after human rights activists dented the trend after ferociously fighting against such practices.

Recalling the encounter, Okparah said: “We had been hearing about it, but that day was my first experience. The BEDC officials came with military men and white men! After disconnecting the light, we told them that we wouldn’t allow them to go with our wires.”

“Four Nigerian soldiers fought me. They tore my clothes, flogged me, used their boots on me and hit me with their guns. I resisted to an extent, but I finally succumbed because I couldn’t contend with the power of four military men, who were fully armed.”

Okparah added that the new chapter opened by BEDC was difficult and consumers couldn’t cope. He explained that BEDC was urged to return to the original operating system, but it allegedly refused.

He said: “They became mad and we joined in their madness, and then they brought soldiers. They disconnected our house, we told them no problem, but that the ladder and wires belonged to us. We bought them with our hard earned money. The only thing that belonged to them was the energy.”

Okparah disclosed that the fight with BEDC started in 2017 after a court case, where DISCO was instructed to stop disconnecting consumers until further notice. He said that BEDC failed to recognise and respect the judiciary, so consumers also decided not to obey and respect the company.

“BEDC was doing illegal billing. The court judgement was given in Lagos and we wanted them to adhere to it, but they refused. We decided to protest their billing system. We decided to pay what we feel we consumed. Most of us know our billings and nothing was removed or added in our electrical consumptions, so how come the billings increased?

“Assuming your bill before was N5,000(US$13) or N10,000 and you’re suddenly given a bill of between N30,000 and N45,000, what will you do?”

That was our case. Part of the court order was that if a bill is being contested, the consumer should be allowed to pay what he or she was being billed before.”
He claimed that some bills even surpassed the consumer’s rent.

Some apartments had bills that increased from N1,500 to N5,000 while the rent for the apartments cost N3,000.

He added: “The court asked them to return to the original billing system, but BEDC refused. While we were busy paying our normal original billing system, they were busy compiling their new system of billings for us, which we had earlier refused to pay.”

After Okparah walked out of hospital, he embarked on a quest for justice, supported by the Edo Civil Society Organisation (EDOCSO).
He reported the situation to the Nigerian Army, the Police and Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). He demanded that the white men should be investigated for human rights violations and be repatriated.

Okparah shared that he filed a complaint against the soldiers at 4th Brigade of the Nigerian Army and also petitioned the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki.

It was discovered that the white men were working closely with some DISCO officials in three different states. The soldiers were attached to the white men.

Okparah also learnt that the white men were in Nigeria under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Power Africa Project.

“We heard that another company brought them to Nigeria and the arrangement was that each white man should be escorted by two soldiers. So, they are now using those military men to molest people. We are law-abiding citizens because we obey the court order,” Okparah said.

“When the Army called me about the matter, they asked me if I wanted the soldiers to be sacked, I responded that they were my brothers. There was no way I could watched them being laid off just because they became stupid by obeying total strangers. The truth is that I expected the soldiers to realise that as Nigerians, we are all brothers,” said Okparah.

Shaking his head in disbelief, the man said that despite everything, BEDC’s crazy billings have not stopped.

The New Telegraph learnt that because of BEDC rights violations, human rights activists in the state teamed up and embarked on a series of protests, often staged at the front of BEDC’s head office in Benin, demanding that the firm and its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Funke Osibudu, should go.

The Coordinator General of Edo State Civil Society Organisations (EDOSCO), Leftist Omobude Agho, also had an encounter with the soldiers, white men and BEDC officials.

Agho said he received a call that power to his apartment was about to be disconnected and immediately rushed over to his community, to find out what was going on.

He was shocked to see armed soldiers, white men and BEDC officials.

Agho said he initially tried to reason with the delegation, but the situation soon snowballed when he was barked at and ordered to sit on the ground.
He was speechless with outrage. The incident occurred on Medical Road, Benin, where Agho lives.

He said: “I was in the middle of the meeting when I received a call that some white men and soldiers were at my house and wanted to disconnect my light. They said that I owed electricity bill.

“When I got there, I was annoyed. I went to meet the sales manager of BEDC, later identified as Mr. Ayiayi, who was also there. I asked what led to white men, who are foreigners, coming to our land with soldiers to harass us. He said that he was sorry; that the white men were from BEDC headquarters.”

“I was still speaking with him when one of the soldiers pointed his rifle at me and asked the sales manager if I was the one. The next thing I knew, the soldier placed the nozzle of his rifle at my chest and ordered me to sit on the ground. I didn’t know if the gun was corked or not.

According to Agho, when he started writing petitions against the military men and reached the DSS office, the DSS boss said his men were not attached to BEDC.

Agho said that although he had heard of such incidents, his own experience was an eye-opener. Armed with this experience and knowledge, he petitioned the Nigeria Police Force, DSS and Nigerian Immigration Service, to call for thorough investigations of the activities of the white men.

“Initially, we found such stories hard to believe until it came to our doorsteps. Nobody had been brave enough to take snapshots of them in operation. Mr. Innocent Okparah who tried it was almost killed. The soldiers and BEDC workers do not want to be captured on video or picture. Okparah spent two weeks in the hospital.”

Agho said that customers’ challenge with BEDC was not getting better, with everyone angry and the atmosphere tensed. According to him, Edo State indigenes no longer want the contract of BEDC to be renewed.

Agho, who said that the only solution to such human rights abuses was for the revocation of BEDC’s licence, added that opportunity should be given to someone, serious about providing power supply to take over.

Mr. Kelly Osunbor Omokaro also has a story to tell, but not as shocking as that of Okparah and Agho.

Omokaro explained that he was able to achieve peace, because of his vast experience in working with security agents and understanding their minds and psychological dispositions. The incident occurred at Oko GRA, Airport Road, where Omokaro lives.

He said: “The time was about 11am. I was at home when I heard my security guard knocking at my door. I opened my door and saw BEDC officials standing at the gate; I went out to meet them. I noticed that two soldiers and some policemen were with them. The policemen were not in uniform. They said we bypassed our meters.”
“On that day, they asked why my meter was bypassed. A BEDC lady led the delegation, but a soldier was the person asking questions. They were 13 people, including soldiers, policemen and BEDC officials.

“I explained about the court injunction on ground. I presented them with a copy of the court’s judgement and where BEDC was asked to revise the N13.50k, which they added on the tariff. Before increasing, BEDC was supposed to call a meeting where we discuss and negotiate the price increment. Thus they failed to do so and refused also to obey court order.

“If I was not well-grounded with the rules and regulations of the military, I would probably have started shaking and begging at the sight of the military and other uniform men.”

Omokaro said that he knew and had cordial relationship with some military commanders in the state. He said that when the soldiers noticed how he spoke, they were taken aback.

They soon relaxed their hostile stance.

The soldiers decided to return to BEDC office, insisting that Omokaro made a lot of sense with his argument.

According to Omokaro, the Edo State people’s argument is that before such increase, BEDC should call a stakeholders’ meeting.

He said he went to BEDC headquarters to register his displeasure and renew argument, where some of the staff he meant on the ground told him that some of them were even suffering more than the consumers because, “their salaries had been slashed with almost 70 per cent.

They said that their welfare was now quite poor compared to the era of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA).”

Omokaro said that he made efforts to report the soldiers and also to find out about their connection to BEDC. But the Army in the state only promised to look into the matter.

He said that even BEDC’s MD, Funke Osibudu, had military details attached to her. He said that Osibudu was the owner of BEDC and actually did buy it from the government.

“She is guarded night and day by soldiers. She stays at Protea Hotel in Benin. Go there right now; you’ll find soldiers everywhere. Even if you go to BEDC headquarters, you will see soldiers there. According to our law, the only person entitled to be guarded by soldiers is the Nigerian President. Even the Edo State governor is not guarded by soldiers. He is only guarded by police and DSS operatives. But to be guarding a private citizen, even down to the hotel she stays is against the law,” Omokaro fumed.

He added: “If you are spending more days in Benin and move around, you will hear a lot of stories. The major problem is that because soldiers are involved, victims shy away from speaking out. They are all afraid.”

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of EDOCSO, Comrade Osazee Edigin, said the fight against such rights violations by BEDC had been on for years.

He remembered that on December 25, 2015, BEDC officials with soldiers went into a community at Country Home Road, off Sapele Road and attempted to disconnect the community transformer because some people owed electricity bills.

Edigin noted that the BEDC officials stormed the community in two trucks filled with soldiers. The disagreement was over estimated billing.

On August 15, The New Telegraphs’ correspondent, Julia Francis, went to the BEDC headquarters to see Osibudu, but the effort was futile. She was directed to the Assistant General Manager (AGM), Corporate Affairs Office.

At the BEDC headquarters, there were three soldiers in full uniform. One of them, patrolling the outside perimeter of the building, was armed.

The Head of Public Affairs, BEDC, Mr. Tayo Adekunle, was not around, but Mr Ibeh Odoh, his assistant, attended to the Julia.

Reacting to allegations that their company uses soldiers to harass, intimidate and brutalise energy consumers, among other atrocities, Odoh said it was a pack of lies.

He said, “ Those white men are USAID members working with BEDC. They are not our staff; they are more like technical partners, under USAID Power Africa Project.”

When asked why BEDC officials in company with the white men and soldiers struggle for possession of electrical wires with their consumers, Odoh explained: “We collect the wires to discourage customers from reconnecting illegally. Before we embark on disconnection, we usually give first, second and third warnings.”Speaking further on soldiers brutalising customers, Odoh said: “If there are victims, let them come to our office to complain and we shall carry out investigations.”

The New Telegraph’s correspondent also contacted the US Embassy, Lagos to question it about the allegations of human rights violations.

On September 5, she contacted Mr. Sani Mohammed, Senior Information Specialist, US Embassy, Public Section, Abuja.

He replied the following day, asking for further information about the journalist and the story she was working on.This information was provided and emailed to him.

However, as at the time of filing this report no response has been provided.

This story is a compilation of articles from Oct 18, 2018 to Oct 25, 2018.

BEHIND THE STORY

The story is about the energy crisis in Nigeria with special focus on victims of the Benin Electricity Company (BEDC), a firm that handles power distribution in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states. The report detailed the pains of the consumers in the hands of BEDC using the military to intimidate and brutalise them. New Telegraph’s Crime Editor, Juliana Francis, who went to the Edo State to speak with the actors involved. The saga began after a court case in 2017, where DISCO (electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria) was instructed to stop disconnecting consumers until further notice. The BEDC failed to recognise and respect the judiciary, so consumers also decided not to obey and respect the company. After the publication of the report, the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, openly decried the capacity of the electricity company. Also, the Benin traditional leaders have visited President Muhammadu Buhari to make similar complaints. Already, BEDC have told electricity consumers that it is working hard in addressing the challenges. However, no punitive measures have been taken against the soldiers used to deal with the electricity consumers. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has declared that the electricity firms lack the capacity and infrastructure to provide power supply to Nigerians. Consequently, the Federal Government has vowed to look into the entire privatisation process.

Angelle Burrus (nee Udo) was just months old in her mother’s womb when her father Ndubuisi Dele Udo, a Nigerian-American athlete, was killed in Lagos.

With the help of The Nation, Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper, Angelle reunited with her long lost kin 37 years later.

An interior decoration professional who lives in St Louis, Missouri, United States, Angelle grew up and married without knowing her father or any of his Nigerian -based family.

An international sprinter, her father was in Lagos for a tournament when he was shot by a policeman during an argument in traffic.

Based on all she heard about her father from her mother and what she read from a collection of 32 newspaper articles, stories and pictures, Angelle’s desire had always been to reconnect with her father’s relatives, especially the Udo family back in Nigeria.

A chance meeting in St. Louis Missouri last December with Taiwo Abiodun a US-based journalist who writes for The Nation presented Angelle the opportunity she had been looking for. 

Expressing her desire to the paper, she told her story well enough to get what she had always wanted.

“My name is Angelle Burrus (nee Udo). I am 37 years old, please I want to come to Nigeria to locate my father’s family and see where he was buried,” she said in the report titled ‘I Want To Know My Father’s Family in Nigeria, says late Dele Udo’s daughter’ that was published on Dec 30, 2018.

“Please write my story. All I want is to meet my father’s siblings and see my father’s grave in Nigeria,” Angelle declared.

Within hours of the publication’s release, the hitherto hard to find Udo family members who read about Angelle reached out to her on Facebook.

In her Facebook post, an excited Angelle wrote about the link she had looked forward to finding for years:

I FOUND MY NIGERIAN FAMILY.

“Dec-7th met Taiwo Abiodun in Missouri

“Dec-9th interview conducted about the death of my father 37 years ago.

“Dec-30th article published in Nigeria.

“Jan-3rd FaceTimed w/her, uncle Luke Udo and cousin Oke ( Nkechi’s brother).

“On this day I find out Oke lives 1hr away

“Jan-5 First in person meeting with cousin Oke and his wife Dami. He’s the first person EVER to meet me in person from my Nigerian family.

“God is amazing I am so blessed and happy!”

To help Angelle accomplish her dream, The Nation’s correspondent in South-Eastern Nigeria where the late Udoh hailed from, Okechukwu Nwankwo ,was briefed by the Lagos headquarters and went in search of her family members back home.

After a series of enquiries, he found Angelle’s stepmother, younger brother, close friend and other acquaintances who were glad to know that the baby Angelle’s mother was carrying when she attended her husband’s burial was indeed alive and keen on meeting them.

A second story was published on Jan 13 titled ‘Late Dele Udo: We are eager to receive his American daughter, wife – Family members’.

“When the news about Angelle trying to reconnect with the father’s family members surfaced in your newspaper, we were very happy. You know at that time, it was only Dele that was the breadwinner, but now, his siblings are doing well in their endeavours. We will be happy to receive her,” said the late Udo’s step mother, Joy Okechukwu.

Udo’s younger brother also spoke about Angelle’s interest in meeting the family: “I think her quest to meet with her father’s family is genuine. 36 years of not knowing any members of her father’s family is long. We had expected this to happen before now, but we are happy she is alive and willing to reunite with her family”

Angelle’s mother, Angella who was initially reluctant to speak with Abiodun about her late husband, was eventually convinced to do so. Her interview titled ‘My lasting memories of Dele Udoh’ was published on Aug 25.

She is happy that her daughter eventually found her father’s family. She had always told Angelle that it was up to her to look for her father’s family and she (Angella) could not do that for her daughter.

While she would be happy to come to Nigeria if invited by the government, Angella who still retains her marriage name, said emotionally “I was (a) bride, a woman, mum and a widow in one year. I am going to write a book on it.”

Comments on Angelle’s social media post on finding her Nigerian family incited excitement amongst relatives and friends as well as highlighted the impact the publication had made on her life.

Some of the comments included:

Janet Burrus: Wow. Angelle this is awesome …exactly what you have been seeking. You know you are part of our family, but now you know your roots, have blood relatives, you can talk with and answers.

Gail Feldman: I cried when I read this article. Finally after all these years- answers, stories, connections- your dad is alive through you and through your relatives. Beautiful

Luke Udo: We’re all excited my dear, it’s just the beginning, you definitely going to Nigeria soon with me to meet the rest, can’t wait for the trip

Lilian Ify Udo: Can’t wait to meet U and your lovely family. Thanks to all my family member’s for their effort and response to the search/media. Y’all did amazing beautiful in reaching out to Angelle. This is the Lord’s doing.

 

This story is a compilation of articles by Taiwo Abiodun and Okechukwu Nwankwo was originally published by The Nation from Dec 30, 2018 to Aug 25.

 

BEHIND THE STORY

Angelle’s re-connection with her father’s family would not have been possible if not for US-based Journalist Taiwo Abiodun’s article, which enabled the first contact between both parties in 37 years to happen within twenty four hours of publishing the first story. The Nation correspondent, Okechukwu Nwankwo, also aided the reunion’s success as he spent the last days of 2018 searching for Angelle’s family through various contacts. 

Nation journalist Abiodun had gone with his wife to the African Palace Restaurant in St Louis owned by a Nigerian when she was introduced to Angelle, daughter of late Udo, who was also visiting the restaurant at that time. 

With the support of a friend and his wife, Abiodun was able to book an interview with Angelle at a Mcdonald’s eatery after several phone calls.

Convincing Angella, Angelle’s mother, to speak was much more difficult as she initially declined.  With his persistence and support of his wife, Ronnie, Abiodun was finally able to get the 74-year-old woman to eventually open up and talk about her late husband. Through the effort of these reporters, Angelle was able to understand the family she had always longed to meet.

For 25-year-old Pachayammal, freedom tastes like biryani. That’s the dish she first ate after being rescued from six years of bonded labour in Tamil Nadu. “We were finally able to eat a meal in peace,” she said.

Now a feisty activist, Pachayammal, along with her husband Arul, has rescued over 100 people from slavery, advocated for homes and work for them, and has rehabilitated them.

Pachayammal’s story is one of ten first-time women voters featured as a part of The Quint’s “Me, the Change” campaign. The campaign, presented by Facebook, sought to put focus on a demographic usually ignored by mainstream media — the first-time woman voter. Launched in October 2018, the campaign highlighted the issues and aspirations of the first-time woman voter in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Pachayammal married Arul when she was barely sixteen years old.She married willingly, for love.But little did she know that she married into slavery. The days would be hard and long, breaking and carrying rock from 4.30 am to 9.00 pm. There would be only one meal a day, of watery rice gruel.

Speaking of her ordeal, Pachayammal says, “My husband’s parents had a debt, which he had to repay. The ‘owner’ decided to get me married to him so that we form a ‘pair’(easy to manage, won’t run off, lower pay). We didn’t know this. I too really liked my husband, so I married him.” They faced physical, verbal and sexual abuse daily. Paid 200 rupees(US$2.79) a week, Pachayammal slaved for the quarry owner with more than 25 bonded labourers for six years.

“At 4 am every day, the owner would call us to break rock. Some days, the men would have to work till midnight”, Pachayammal says.

Until, she was rescued.

According to The Quint, over 1 million people were bonded labourers in Tamil Nadu, India in 2018. After Pachayammal was rescued at the age of 23, she turned to activism. She draws from an unending well of self-confidence, to seek out from the government basic rights (homes, electricity, work) for rescued bonded labourers. 

And she rescues those still under the throes of slavery. She stakes out quarries, brick kilns, carpentry units for months on end. She goes in to work in those units, to get close to the bonded labourers to ascertain the truth, ropes in government officials and organises a raid.

Pachayammal is now part of the SRLM (State Rural Livelihoods Mission) and gets a steady monthly income. Occasionally, she does daily wage work. Her husband, Arul, earns a living by driving an auto-rickshaw he received from a corporation as part of their CSR. Both of them are doing very well today.

 

This story by Vikram Venkateswaran was originally published by the Quint on Nov 30, 2018.

 

BEHIND THE STORY

To find Pachayamal’s story, a team of three reporters at The Quint reached out to International Justice Mission, a global NGO, from where many case studies were sourced before zeroing in on her. Before The Quint’s video, Pachayammal, was a true inspiration, but her story wasn’t covered in mainstream media. The sight of a camera, or a journalist pushed her and the entire colony into what can only be described as the ‘camera effect’. All the responses were rehearsed and interactions were formal. Pachayammal, and the rest of the colony were expecting to be fed the words, which they would then rattle off. This had been their experience of journalists and the media and what had always happened. To tackle this, The Quint’s reporter Vikram Venkateswaran made several trips to Pachayammal’s village with a cameraperson; but without any equipment. The team got to know them, and spent time with Pachayammal, her husband and the children of the colony. It was only on the fourth visit that the reporter took a camera along. On the sixth visit to Ullavur village, which is a three-hour drive from Chennai, the camera was finally rolled. Over a kerosene stove, as Pachayammal prepared a ‘sambar’ (a local dish) for her husband and herself, the reporter started a conversation with her about food — what she liked to eat, and what she got to eat while a slave. And so, began a genuine retelling of Pachayammal’s inspirational story, which the team managed to capture on camera, minus the inhibition.

 

In June 2015, journalist Jagendra Singh was set on fire by a minister’s henchmen in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh in India.

A week later, he died of his injuries.

The case never went to trial and none of the accused were punished.

Jagendra had been reporting on the corruption of several powerful ministers, including former minister Rammurti Singh Varma.

At the height of the protests following his death, Jagendra’s family met with then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and received a monetary compensation of Rs 3 million (US$41,690) from the state government of Uttar Pradesh.

Their key demand, though – a CBI inquiry into his death – was not met by the state. 

Barely six months later, the family mounted a sudden U-turn. Jagendra’s younger son, Rahul Singh, withdrew the petition that he had sent to the Supreme Court the night before it was heard, effectively ending any cases made on their behalf.

“He had been sending me messages that he was under immense pressure, that he was going into hiding, but I did not expect that he would suddenly withdraw at the last moment. The judge was predictably annoyed and we were left red-faced in court,” said Mudit Mathur, senior journalist with Tehelka, who impleaded himself in a similar petition before the court. 

Mathur attempted to continue the second case in the Supreme Court in which he had impleaded himself. But with the family withdrawing the petition, that case too was dead, since Mathur had no locus standi.

For the first time, the facts of the case come tumbling out.

In Khutar, Rahul is pensive as he reminisces about that time. 

The family, especially his mother, faced significant pressure from relatives, neighbours, friends and even some officials to move on from whatever had happened.

“They started to target mummy that whatever has happened has happened and to make a compromise. Mummy got scared that this is a small family and something might happen to her children. Due to pressure from mummy, we agreed to a compromise,” he said.

When they met Minister Rammurti Varma, the man claimed that he was framed.

Rahul said: “I told him in that case why don’t you let the enquiry take place? If you are innocent, then you will go free. But he said no, whatever has happened with your father has happened and I do not want your lives to be ruined. I will take responsibility for you. I will ensure that your sister is married well. As long as I am alive I will take good care of you.”

The minister then promised to be in their debt if the family forgave him.

When asked why Rammurti would still need to ask for forgiveness if he was innocent, Rahul laughed.

“Only he can answer this. I told him a number of times that at least the others who were involved should be caught – the ones who attacked my father, the ones who filed a false case against him. He said he would ensure a probe takes place and that he is innocent,” he said. 

However, Rahul maintained that the minister was guilty “in one way or another” because the police would not have gone to his father’s house if a false case had not been made.

Before his death, Jagendra had a fake attempt to murder complaint registered against him.

This would enable the police to arrest him and silence his reports on Rammurti’s corruption.

Ironically, a year after Jagendra’s death, the police acknowledged that the case filed against him was indeed false. 

Instead of explaining why a false complaint had been lodged against Jagendra Singh, the minister asked the family to withdraw the First Information Report (FIR), that would have allowed the police to commence the investigation of the journalist’s death.

His brother and uncle signed some papers given to them by the minister and they left with Rs 3 million.

 

UNEASY CONSCIENCES

While the Singh family, on the surface, appears to have made their peace with the decision to make the compromise, all is not well. 

Regret and unease is evident. Both brothers are married and the elder one is a father now. 

The money from the state has been used to build a larger home and buy a small car.

But the stain of guilt, of having betrayed a courageous father, is yet to be washed off. 

“Sometimes I feel like we should have fought the whole fight to the end,” said Rahul Singh. “But at other times I feel whatever happened was a good thing. Because initially there were thousands of people standing with us, then slowly it became 500, then that became 150 and then 100. So in this fashion people left, they sold out, those who were with me too sold out. Those who were asking me to fight turned around and asked me to compromise with the Minister. Then finally the five to six people who were left standing beside me were putting pressure on me to compromise so I thought, what can one do when surrounded by traitors. Anything can happen to us. So when I think of that I feel what I did is right.” 

Brother Rajan also feels pricked by his conscience. “Yes I do feel bad,” he said when asked about the compromise. “My Papa was a brave man and we let him down.” 

Mother Suman Singh tells herself to be practical, for her children’s sake. 

“The man of the house is no more, what can one do?” She asked. “I did not see any other option and I was very afraid for my children,” she said. 

Sumer Singh, Jagendra’s father who passed away in January, told the collaboration in 2018 about the multiple threats issued to the family. “Even now I can’t sleep the entire night, with the fear, someone will come to take away or kill my family members. I told them, go sleep inside, let them kill me instead. They threatened us a lot, far too much. Even I was shaken,” he began to sob. 

“They are kids, what all they had to undergo,” he said. “We were left with little choice. I was scared for the lives of both my grandsons. By then all our relatives and family members pushed us toward making a compromise and we were left with little choice. I want the killers of my son to get punishment. That is important,” he said. 

Jagendra’s sister’s husband Ajay Singh, who had fixed the meeting with the Minister, said that he was convinced there was no foul play in Jagendra’s death. 

“The neighbours told us that the police never went inside his house,” Ajay said. “For whatever reasons or pressure, he (Jagendra) had set himself ablaze. From what information I got I felt there was no external hand in this, that it was a result of Jagendra’s anger.” 

Ajay though admits that he organised a meeting with the Minister and was present at the “compromise” – although he repeatedly denied any money deal. 

“No there was no talk of any money with the Minister,” he said. “But yes, I made a request to the Minister – these are very young children, you have to take care of them, you have to help them set their economic situation right and become stable,” he added. 

His wife, Jagendra’s sister Lovely though is not as convinced as he is that the Minister is entirely innocent.

“The compromise was done under duress,” she said. “Now my brother is gone, we need our nephews and niece – what if they too get killed? That was my fear,” she said.

 

A FATHER’S DAUGHTER

“She is not like us,” said Suman, waving in the direction of 23-year-old Diksha Singh, who sat silently in the house, preoccupied with her thoughts. “She is like her father. She wants to fight. She wants justice for him.” 

Diksha is shy but ask her a question about her father and the angst comes tumbling out in a flood.

“I was not aware of the compromise,” said Diksha. “Nobody told me or asked me about it.” 

Diksha is speaking of the first meeting in Bareilly when Rahul Singh, Rajan Singh and their uncle met with Minister Varma to chalk out the details of the compromise. 

“When I heard about it, I was furious. I did not talk to anyone for a few weeks. I just cried,” she said. 

The family consoled the young girl, 19 years old at the time, explaining to her that many relatives had even scared her mother saying that anything could happen to her only daughter when she went out alone. 

Fear festered and eventually pulled an unwilling Diksha into the tight distraught circle. 

“I went to the meeting at the Shahjahanpur residence of the Minister,” said Diksha. “He kept telling me he did not do it but I did not believe him.” 

At this second meeting, the entire family, except for Diksha, signed an affidavit stating that Jagendra Singh had indeed committed suicide. 

Upon their return to Khutar, their uncle placed a bag near his sister in law Suman and turned to Rahul and Rajan. 

“He said this is for your younger sister, for her wedding,” recollected Rahul. “He said we will conduct her wedding in a grand manner and any further help also the Minister will do.” 

Rs 3 million in cash had arrived in Khutar. 

Diksha is vehement in her distaste over the whole deal. “I don’t want it (the money),” she said. “I wish that not a single penny of that amount should be used for my marriage.”

Diksha still has nightmares. “I dream someone is following me, catching me and leading me to a fire. I also feel as if I am seeing ghosts and every time I only see they all are trying to cause me harm, trying to kill me. And every time it is Papa who comes to save me. Every time someone is trying to cause me harm in the dream, he is the one to save me and only says one thing – So what if there was nobody to save me, I will always be there to save Rachna,” she says as she blinks back tears. 

Another recurring nightmare is based on reality. “Another dream I have often – When I had gone there (hospital), Papa had asked me to give him some water. He said aloud – Rachna give me water. So I went to get him water and over there and I met his doctor. 

He dissuaded me from giving him water. He said, his burn injuries are such, water acts like poison, so don’t feed him water. Do you want to kill your own father? I said, of course not, why are you talking like this? If say you say no, I will not give him.

Then I did not give him any water. He kept asking for water. My only regret is, he asked so often for water, in his last breath and I refused to give him, because the doctors said so. This will always remain etched in my mind.

He kept asking me, saying he is extremely thirsty because he said it was burning from inside. He kept saying please give me little, just a little water. And I did not give him any water, with the wish that he will get better soon and my giving water should not deteriorate his condition. 

Because once he gets better soon, he can return home and have as much water as he wants.”

 

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

It was only after at least two personal interactions that the Singhs opened up enough to reveal another fact. 

That the Minister they loathed was still in touch with them and continued to help them. 

In late March, Rahul Singh fell off his motorbike and fractured his arm. His elder brother Rajan rushed him to the doctor who was not available. 

“My brother called the Minister and asked him for help in organising a doctor,” admitted Rahul. “I did not know about this until we went in to meet the doctor. The doctor asked – oh so you are the ones sent by Mantriji (Minister). I asked him later if he had called the Minister for help. He said that he did,” said Rahul. 

Rajan is a little unsure as to whether to discuss this aspect of their strange relationship with the Minister. “There was a friend who had cancer and needed admission in SGPGI (hospital) so the Minister helped with that,” he said. 

On being pressed as to whether he had asked for help for any member of his family, he said – “Yeah, sometimes we ask. He helps us.”

“He talks to me sometimes, asks about work and asks how we are,” said Rajan. He currently lives in his father’s Shahjahanpur house and works nights as a security guard. 

Rahul, who was working in a private telecom firm, resigned in January after Jagendra’s father Sumer Singh passed away due to a heart attack. He now lives in Khutar with his wife, mother, Diksha and Rajan’s family.

With the grandfather’s pension of Rs 18,000 no longer coming in, both brothers are desperate for the once-promised government jobs. 

 

This story by Sandhya Ravishankar was originally published by The Lede on June 21.

 

BEHIND THE STORY

Published on June 21, The Lede journalist Sandhya Ravishankar wrote a four-part series that uncovered the true reason why none of Jagendra Singh’s attackers were ever brought to justice. In the first part, The Lede recounted the background that led to Jagendra Singh’s death in June 2015. The second part revealed why his family chose to stay silent. As part of a collaboration in the Green Blood Project, 60 publications across the world featured the story, which took the story from a small town in India’s most populous state and highlighted the dangerous conditions that journalists work under in India.

 

ORIGINAL URL

https://www.thelede.co.in/the-green-blood-project/2019/06/20/the-death-of-jagendra-singh-the-compromise

 

“You will hardly find women with wombs in these villages. These are villages of womb-less women,” says Manda Ugale, with gloom in her eyes.

Sitting in her tiny house in the Hajipur village within the drought-affected Beed district of Maharashtra’s Marath-wada region, she struggles to talk about the painful topic. 

Women in Vanjarwadi say that it is the “norm” in villages to remove their uterus after having two or three children. 50 per cent have already had hysterectomies.

The majority of these women are cane cutters who migrate to the sugar belt of western Maharashtra during the cane cutting season. With the drought intensifying, the number of migrants multiplies. 

“The mukadam (contractor) is keen to have women without wombs in his group of cane cutters,” says Satyabhama, another cane-cutter. 

Hundreds of thousands of men and women from the region migrate to work as cane cutters between October and March. 

Contractors draw up contracts with the husband and wife counted as one unit. Cane cutting is a rigorous process and if the husband or wife takes a break for a day, the couple has to pay a fine of 500 Rupees (US$6.99) per day to the contractor for every break. 

‘Periods hinder work’ 

Menstrual periods hinder work and attract fines. Thus, the answer, in Beed, is to go in for a hysterectomy so the women no longer have them. 

“After a hysterectomy, there is no chance of menstrual periods. So, there is no question of taking a break during cane cutting. We cannot afford to lose even a rupee,” says Satya Bhama. 

Contractors say that during menstrual periods, women want a break for a day or two and work is halted. 

“We have a target to complete in a limited time frame and hence we don’t want women who would have periods during cane cutting,” said Dada Patil, a contractor. 

Patil insists that he and other contractors don’t force the women to have a surgery; rather, it is a choice made by their families. 

Interestingly, the women said that the contractors give them an advance for a surgery and that the money is recovered from their wages. 

Achyut Borgaonkar of Tathapi, an organisation that has conducted a study on this issue, said: “In the cane cutter community, menstrual periods are considered a problem and they think surgery is the only option to get rid of it. But this has a serious impact on the health of the women as they develop a hormonal imbalance, mental health issues, gain weight etc. We observed that even young girls at the age of 25 have undergone this surgery.” 

Bandu Ugale, Satyabhama’s husband and a cane cutter himself, explains the logic behind the practice. 

“A couple gets about 250 Rupees after cutting a tonne of sugarcane. In a day, we cut about 3-4 tonnes of cane and in an entire season of 4-5 months a couple cuts about 300 tonnes of sugarcane. What we earn during the season is our yearly income as we don’t get any work after we come back from cane cutting,” says Ugale. 

“We can’t afford to take a break even for a day. We have to work even if we have health problems. There is no rest and women having periods is an additional problem,” he explains. 

Septuagenarian Vilabai says that the life of a cane cutter woman is hellish. 

She hints that there is repeated sexual exploitation of women by contractors and their men.

“Cane cutters have to live in cane fields or near sugar mills in a tent. There are no bathrooms and toilets. It becomes even more difficult for a woman if she has periods in these conditions,” says the old woman. 

Many women in villages in this parched landscape said private medical practitioners prescribe a hysterectomy surgery even if they complain of normal abdominal pain or a white discharge. 

 

This story by Radheshyam Jadhav was originally published by The Hindu Business Line on April 8.