Police brutally beat me, used casteist slurs; will keep fighting for Shiv Kumar: Nodeep

New Delhi: 24-year-old Dalit labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur was arrested on January 12 when she was organising workers of the Kundli Industrial Area to protest for their pending salaries. Haryana Police registered three FIRs against her, including charges of attempt to murder and extortion.

In the one-and-a-half months since then that she has been in police custody and in Karnal Jail, the young activist faced brutality by police personnel and casteist slurs before being released on bail but the first thing she spoke of when she walked out was the torture that her colleague Shiv Kumar faced at the hands of the police.

A day later, in an interview with Millennium Post, the 24-year-old narrated the ordeal she has faced since she was arrested, "On January 12, I was beaten up on an isolated road. When they took me to the Kundli Police station, the SHO was standing there when I was being beaten up. All the police personnel - men and women constables were initially not even there. I was abused and casteist slurs were used where I was told that I can not move forward as I am a Dalit woman. Shiv Kumar has also faced a similar situation."

Kaur continued, "I was taken to Sonepat at night. In Sonepat, two police personnel sat on me and forced me to sign a paper. I was not able to walk as they beat me with a thick stick. They presented me in front of someone at a small house. I do not know who the person was whether he was a judge but he questioned me about the charges put on me. I denied them but from there I was taken to Karnal Police Station."

She said that since her release she has had difficulty eating and her health has also deteriorated. "I could not come to Singhu after my release immediately because I have been vomiting the entire night. The food of jail and that of outside is different. It is because of the people that I have come out."

Calling the charges against her baseless and false, Nodeep, a member of the Majdoor Adhikar Sangathan said that people who extort money do not protest. "If it was extortion then when 300 people got their salaries why didn't they raise their objections then? Where was Kundli Police then? And if I tried to beat somebody up then there should be evidence against me. I did not have a weapon and they put attempt to murder charges against me. No police personnel was injured gravely so all these allegations they have put on me are wrong and it is due to lack of proof that I got bail," she added.

Kaur added that labour laws and distress of workers need more attention and people need to mobilise on such issues. "Labour issues are very important not just in Kundli but everywhere. In Delhi, the salary might be Rs 14,000 but people only get Rs 8,000 to 9,000. Labourers are exploited no matter where they are," she said.

Surrounded by her family, friends and supporters, Kaur said that a farmer grows his own crop and works hard on it but they still do not have the right to ask for a rate they want. "Everywhere wrong things are happening with the common person. All these laws are being brought against the common people. All the laws are made for the benefit of the people. If the people are not happy and are sitting on the roads, then they are not ill-informed," she said.

Thanking everyone for their support, Kaur said inside the jail there was a time when she thought it would be difficult for her to come out. "I had no idea what was going on. I was not even aware of the charges put against me. It was later that I came to know about the attempt to murder and other charges. I had no idea that 307 (of IPC) is more dangerous than 302 (of IPC). And I was thinking that I might not be able to come out with these charges and I have come out because of the people. I am really happy about that," she added.

She went on to say that they will be fighting the FIR against Shiv Kumar as well and are working to get him bailed. Kumar's father who had also come out in solidarity with Nodeep said that her coming out has given them hope for Shiv. "It is terrifying whatever he had gone through. But Nodeep has also assured us that we will fight for Shiv," Rajbir, Shiv's father said.

Meanwhile, Nodeep's mother Swarnjit Kaur expressed her happiness on her daughter's release. "I am happy to see so many people supporting her and have helped her. I want to thank them all. We just hope that all our daughters and son who are in jail, a voice should be raised in solidarity with them as well. We also request parents to come out in support of their children," she added.

The Haryana Police have denied all allegations of custodial torture in court.