Month on, father catches sight of activist brought to GMCH for medical check-up

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 20

On Saturday morning arrived Shiv Kumar, 24, president of the Mazdoor Adhikaar Sangathan, at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32 with Haryana cops for his medical examination as ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His medical reports will be out on Monday, said lawyers, who accompanied Shiv and the police.

Shiv was arrested by the Haryana Police on January 16 from Kundli border for mobilising the workers of the Kundli Industrial Area, said his friends.

His father Rajbir Kumar and two friends Jasminder Tinku and Ankit waited at the park facing the hospital’s Emergency building to catch a glimpse of Shiv. Teary-eyed, his father broke down looking at his son’s limping gait. “Kya gareebo ki bhalaai, adhikaar kay liye ladna itna bada jurm hai? (Is it a crime to fight for the rights of poor?),” he mumbled to himself.

Rajbir, a resident of Dewru village in Sonepat, Haryana, said, “I came here at 9 am to see my son. I haven’t seen him since January 16 and even the police didn’t inform us about his arrest.”

Ankit, Shiv’s friend, added, “We got to know of Shiv’s arrest on January 31. On January 24, he was presented in a court. None of us were apprised of his whereabouts.”

For eight days, he was illegally taken in remand by the police, where he was brutally beaten up, Ankit alleged, adding that he was not even given warm clothes or slippers in the jail. He got his spectacles just a day ago, he said.

One of the medical staff was quick to notice the discolouration and swelling on Shiv’s feet. On the condition of anonymity, the staffer said, “His nails are blue. His feet are swollen, despite the one-month delay.”

Jasminder said, “The situation at the Kundli Industrial Area is bad. The area’s industrialists’ association has formed a ‘quick response team’, which comprises paid goons to silence daily wagers asking for their salaries.”

He added, “Shiv was mobilising these daily wagers to fight for their salaries, which have been withheld by these big companies for months now. This seems to be his fault.” Jasminder said, “Even though the police came to Shiv’s house to enquire about his whereabouts and spoke to his mother, who had not seen him since January 16, they didn’t tell her he was arrested.”

Soon after the medical examination, Shiv was taken back to the Sonepat District Jail. His father doesn’t know when he will see his son next. Shiv didn’t utter a word. The police held his hand, escorted him at all times in the E- Block of the GMCH-32.