The more important question is why the police were in a hurry to evict the couple, since the same day the court suspended the eviction.
Rahul (23) seems distant from the outside world, gazes into the distance as he struggles to speak amidst sobs. Sitting in a small room in the shed where his family of four lived for a year, he is inconsolable as he remembers how his father and mother died.
Rahul’s neighbor forces him to have some kanji. Rahul takes a few minutes to swallow a tablespoon. “My pappa (father) is someone who would never attempt suicide. Suicide is not the solution for anything I would say, ”he says while words are cut off.
Rahul Raj’s parents, Rajan (46) and Ambili (40), succumbed to burns after they were accidentally immolated on December 22 when police officers went to their home to evict the family living in Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram. . On a three-cent lot, the family lived in a small shed. With an asbestos roof to cover it, the shed has two tiny rooms and a small kitchen. Rajan died Sunday night, while Ambili succumbed Monday night.
Rahul and Hari
The couple’s death has shocked Kerala and sparked much anger against the police and a woman who had filed a complaint against the couple. When Rajan poured gasoline on him and Ambili, and held a lighter in his hands, it was a policeman who came over to remove the lighter and appears to have accidentally lit the fire. While the police’s lack of empathy and their disregard for safety is one aspect of the story, the bigger question is why the police were in a rush to evict the couple.
Kerala couple immolation: Shashi Tharoor and Chennithala criticize the police
“The police could have waited half an hour longer for the suspension order to arrive,” say Rahul and his 17-year-old brother Renjith. His accusations that the police were acting at the behest of a woman named Vasantha, who had filed a land dispute case, is supported by the fact that the Munsiff court in Neyyattinkara issued a stay order in Rajan’s favor just as he was carried out the eviction. going.
This is the stay order that Rajan obtained from the court, the same day of the eviction, December 22. Why didn’t the police wait for the court’s decision? pic.twitter.com/195Bvw94d5
– Saritha S Balan (@Sarithasbalan) December 29, 2020
As Rahul sits in the shed, the crowd outside is growing. Shouting slogans against the police, berating them for “overreacting”, the crowd also demanded Vasantha’s arrest.
The anger was palpable and understanding the risk of things getting out of control, the police took Vasantha into custody on Tuesday night.
Death by immolation of Kerala couple: woman who went to court to evict family, arrested
Vasantha lives in a house next to Rajan’s.
How it all began
Rajan moved to the area called Netta Thottam in Neyyattinkara more than a year ago. Until then, he had been living at his mother’s house which was just under a mile away. Initially, he had installed a makeshift tarp until he built a suitable shed. Netta Thottam is a place where a large number of families from the included caste communities live. Rajan had to leave his mother’s house, allegedly as a result of the constant complaints made by Vasantha.
Rajan’s neighbor, Hari, and his mother Thulasi alleged that Vasantha attacked Rajan, claiming that his carpentry work used illegal means. Rajan had made an almirah for his sister Rani during their wedding and had completed work for himself at his mother’s house.
“Vasantha had then complained to the Kerala State Bureau of Surveillance and Anti-Corruption and the Electricity Board, alleging that Rajan had bought wood to make almirah in an unauthorized manner and had stolen electricity. At one point, she couldn’t even go to work because she got into solving those problems while she kept making complaints, ”says Hari.
Eventually, Rajan created a shed on land he believed to be the government’s poramboke land and moved there with his family.
“Rajan told us that the land was poramboke land according to the panchayat records and that was why Rajan had dared to live there. No one lived on those three cents before Rajan and his family, Hari adds.
Vasantha’s youngest son had threatened Rajan six months ago, Hari alleges. “He came with gasoline to set them on fire, that time the local people intervened. They have assets that are worth many lakhs. Vasantha’s intention was to torture the family and make them leave the house so that she could buy the land for a small amount of money. She has also done this with others, ”says Hari.
Rajan’s mother, Thulasi, spoke up even as she tried to comfort her grandchildren. “I never thought things would turn like this, I never would have asked him to leave if I had known. My son had to solve case after case brought by Vasantha, he never received justice, ”Thulasi tells TNM, unable to control her tears.
Thulasi (right)
“He approached the Collectorate and the Human Rights Commission that he had told me about. It was in Vasantha’s brother’s shop that my son bought wood to make the almirah. But his complaint was that he brought the wood in an unauthorized manner. I don’t know what caused the revenge, but my son and my wife are gone, ”he says.
Both Vasantha and Rajan belong to the Nadar Christian community. Thulasi alleges that he once had an argument with Vasantha. “This is a place where mainly Dalit families live, but she stated that she would not let Dalits live in the area. I told him that we all, all humans, have the same rights. This could have made her mad at me and my son. I had even reported that my son had put mud on the wall. I finally asked my son and family to change positions as we were constantly being harassed by visiting officials to investigate Vasantha’s complaints. This began to further disturb Ambili’s mental health. I thought a change would make her feel better. Who is there now to take care of me and my grandchildren now? ” she asks.
However, Vasantha’s defender, K Sivaprasad, maintains that the land is not puramboke, but was bought by Vasantha in 2006. “She had paid the property tax until 2019 and had submitted the tax receipt in court while filing the case, ”he says.
The family points the finger at the police
“It was the police who caused their death when they tried to take the lighter from them. That woman, Vasantha, told the police that she will deal with the consequences of the eviction and they kept their word. My dad will never attempt suicide, he used to say that suicide is not a solution at all, “Rahul tells TNM.
The video of Rahul digging his father’s grave and waving his hand at the police has created much anguish and outrage in Kerala. “Can’t I bury my father here? You all caused his death, ”the young man is heard saying.
Neighbors say it was when Rajan and his family were having lunch that the police tried to carry out the eviction. The food was left half-eaten as the family rushed to deal with the police.
Although the chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, promised a house and funds for relatives, the deaths have raised serious questions about how a section of society, the marginalized and the poor, still does not have access to land or housing, despite of various government plans. It has also exposed the double standards of a police force that may never have entered a luxurious neighborhood or apartment and its callousness in dealing with such evictions.
Read also: Kerala couple immolation: CM Pinarayi promises to build a house and fund children’s education
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