Hotline Asia Urgent Appeals -- UA020711(7)

Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background
Please respond before 31 July 2002
Update

Summary

Ms. Navleen Kumar, who worked for the land rights of adivasis/tribals in Nallasopara on the outskirts of Mumbai (Bombay, India) was stabbed to death on the terrace of her flat at Nallasopara on 19 June 2002.

Navleen, 54, had been fighting against the "builders and land mafia", a network of developers, builders, bureaucrats, politicians and criminal elements, who, over the last 20-25 years, had been usurping tribal land by terror, force and fraud. Through her dedication she had been able to disclose old records, file affidavits and restore the land rights to the tribals - the original owners.

Hence, Navleen's work brought her in direct conflict with the "builders and land mafia". Three months ago, she was threatened at gunpoint at Nallasopara railway station. She had also been threatened on the premises of the Thane district court.

Several activists have expressed their outrage over the murder of Navleen. In a joint statement, they demanded a high-powered committee to investigate the large-scale grabbing of adivasis/ tribals land by the "builders and land mafia".

Since Navleen's death, several other fellow activists have received death threats for speaking out on the killing and for their continued work on behalf of the land rights of advivasis/tribals. For example, the Times of India reported on 1 July 2002, that another 45-year-old fellow activist had since also received death threats and the complaints regarding the death threats has been filed with the Director General of Police and the Chief Minister of the Maharashtra.

Please write letters expressing your concern about the brutal killing of Navleen Kumar. Request the authorities to expedite investigations in the case, charge the culprits and ensure protection of all activists who strive to bring justice especially among the powerless, particularly those working for the land rights of adivasis/tribals.

Sample Letter

Background

Ms. Navleen Kumar, who worked to restore the land rights of adivasis/tribals in Nallasopara on the outskirts of the Mumbai had successfully protected and restored adivasi land through sustained legal interventions. Her crusade started after the death of her journalist-husband Murli Kumar under mysterious circumstances eight years ago.

Not only did Navleen Kumar help the tribals protect their land she also taught them a new way of life. None of the past five generations attended school but the children are doing it now after being influenced by Ms. Kumar. She was also instrumental in organising the local street vendors and street children.

The Land Issue:

Despite social activists trying to raise awareness on the issue, over 3,500 acres of tribal and non-tribal land on the outskirts of Mumbai have so far been "grabbed" by the "builders and land mafia". Unscrupulous developers and builders are known to have transferred land from local tribals using threats, violence and other illegal means.

According to the activists, many buildings in Mumbai were built on land allegedly stolen from tribals and native folk like the Kolis (fisher folk). According to local human rights groups, those who fight to protect tribal ownership of the land faced threats and terror. There are cases of people being stabbed and shot for not heeding the threats. A number of activists have been murdered over the years, while others had been implicated in false court cases.

Recent years have shown a definite pattern emerging on the land scenario. Due to the burgeoning population of Mumbai, the city expanded northward into the inner as well as northern suburbs. The "builders and the land mafia" who once terrorized and grabbed land from the rightful owners in Andheri and Goregaon (both suburbs of northern Mumbai) have moved further into the forests of Borivali (suburb of northern Mumbai) and beyond in the Vasai-Virar belt in Thane district. In the Vasai-Virar belt, the occupants of the land are the tribals/adivasis.

The Motive for the Murder?

As reported in the Times of India on 28 June, '(t)he brutal murder of veteran tribal activist Navleen Kumar on the 19th of this month must have come as a big relief to the Mumbai land mafia. For Navleen was more than an occasional gadfly in the city's lucrative land grabbing racket. She had waged, over the past many years, several successful legal battles on behalf of tribals whose land had been appropriated by the mafia. There was another, more urgent, reason for silencing her, though. For just a day before her death, charges were framed in the case of builder Suresh Dube's murder against dreaded Mumbai gangster Bhai Thakur, and four others, based on Navleen's testimony. Considering that this is the only case the police have managed to register against Bhai Thakur (in spite of his notorious land grabbing), and it largely hinged on prime witness Navleen, it might well be assumed that the gangster has a good chance of walking the streets again."

A local court on 8 July remanded to judicial custody four of Bhai Thakur's henchmen arrested in connection with the Navleen Kumar murder case. They were arrested on 30 June eleven days after the Ms. Kumar's death. Till now, the police were unable to collect material or evidence to show the involvement of the accused in the crime.

Another possible motive for the murder concerns a plan to beautify a lake on a 40-acre plot along a section of railway track, half a kilometre from Nallasopara railway station. Two months earlier, Navleen Kumar stepped in to oppose the local municipal council's plan to beautify the lake. As part of the beautification scheme, a 30-foot-wide tract on the edge of the lake was reclaimed. Locals perceived this as a ploy by the ruling clique in the council to grab land and set up shops. Ms. Kumar's intervention put a halt to the plan in which the henchmen of Bhai Thakur's gang were also allegedly involved.

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