Justice for Niyamat Ansari-I

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent murder of NREGA activist Niyamat Ansari in Kope Gram Panchayat (Latehar district, Jharkhand), as well as a similar attempt – the same day – on the life of his associate Bhukhan Singh.

Briefly, the murder was the culmination of a series of acts of harassment, including at least one earlier attempt on Bhukhan’s and Niyamat’s lives. Bhukhan and Niyamat fearlessly continued to fi ght for the rights of NREGA workers and stood up against the nexus of corruption and crime in the area. Niyamat was killed just a few days after he and others exposed a fl agrant NREGA scam in Rankikalan Gram Panchayat.