Families of victims mistaken to be Sikh survive on govt pension of Rs30,000 pa

The riots after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 largely took place in Delhi and northern parts of the country. Thousands were killed. Rippling effects were felt in many other areas and this included Akola and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra where four people were burned to death. As per a government decision, the families of the victims who died get annual pension.
As per police and court records Tikaram Satav, a truck driver, and Dinkar Dambre, the cleaner, were killed by an angry mob of students from Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth near the college on November 3, 1984. The students mistook them to be Sikhs.

The families of these two are living in Nandura town of Buldhana and are getting pension from the Maharashtra government since the last four years. Satav’s wife expired last year. Satyabhama, wife of Dambre, gets an annual pension of Rs30,000. TOI spoke to her at a nondescript hamlet of Naigaon in Nandura town of Buldhana district where she currently resides.

After Dambre’s death, the world came crashing down on Satyabhama who was just 18 then. She was already a mother of two kids — Dhyandeo and Anita — after getting married 2-3 years earlier. “My brother-in-law first told me about the incident and took me to the hospital. By the time I reached, my husband had already expired. The nurses told me that he signalled them through his fingers that he had two kids and requested them to take their care,” the 66-year-old Satyabhama says with moist eyes.

That time she was staying at Nandura as Dambre used to work with Janata Transport. After his death, she had no option but to shift to Naigaon, their native place, as she had nothing to fend for her two children. “Initially, the villagers helped immensely. They used to provide foodgrains and clothes, and also lodged protests for getting compensation for our family. I then started doing menial labour jobs at Rs2 per day but it was very tough,” says Satyabhama.

Satyabhama, who has preserved all documents relating to her husband’s death, wasn’t aware of any kind of compensation for about two decades. She was informed about it by some Sikh families in the region. “They helped me a lot in preparing the documents and applying for compensation,” she says.

Even after applying, her papers were delayed by the bureaucracy. “About 10 years ago, we received Rs20,000 on one occasion. Then it was stopped for reasons we are not aware of. It’s only since the last four years that we are getting Rs30,000 cheque every year regularly. This amount too is very meagre,” her handicapped son Dhyandeo says.

After Dhyandeo started earning, the family built a small house at Naigaon. They now have their own farm, where the entire family works.

“I utilized the pension for the education of my three grandchildren. The eldest daughter is pursuing graduation in arts, while two boys are in school,” says Satyabhama with a smile .

The family was not aware of recent developments related to 1984 riots. They had not even heard of senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar who was convicted and is in jail now. “The person who actually killed my husband and Satav also met the same fate. He was killed in a ghastly mishap on the same stretch of road near PDKV. He was the son of a former MLA. He was acquitted by the court then,” says Satyabhama.

Like Satyabhama, Kasturi Satav used to receive the same compensation from the government till her death on January 14 last year. Her son Vasanta was 18 years old when Tikaram died. “We had 20 acres farm at that time on Malkapur Road. None of the perpetrators were punished. His death shook our entire family. Even my younger brother died due to illness. I missed my father till date,” says Vasanta, who now stays at Khudanpur, in Nandura, with his family.

Besides Dambre and Satav’s families, two more from Ahmednagar were receiving the compensation — Sugrabi Sayyad, wife of Piran Hasan Sayyad, and Darshan Kaur, wife of Satpalsing Bajwa.

THE CASE

The old case papers with TOI reveal that Satav and Dambre were returning home in their truck (No MHS-2094). They were warned not to venture out due to the riot-like situation on November 3, 1984. When they were near the PDKV campus, they were intervened by a mob of PDKV students who were hostelites.

The students asked them to stop the vehicle but, sensing trouble, the duo accelerated. The rioters then threw acid and petrol bombs on the truck which caught fire forcing the driver to stop the truck. The students then surrounded the vehicle and threw more acid and petrol bombs inside the cabin even as Satav and Dambre were pleading that they were Hindus and not Sikhs and from Nandura itself. But the students didn’t listen to them and carried out their dastardly act.

As a result, both received serious burn injuries. At that time, a wireless van passing from the spot alerted PSI Sonone who shifted the duo to the main hospital in Akola. Both driver and cleaner succumbed to their burn injuries which was nearly 90%.

Sonone, who investigated the case, arrested nine students and filed a charge sheet on December 30, 1984, with the Akola judicial magistrate first class (JMFC). He reported that the accused targeted four trucks coming from Akola apprehending that those were driven by the Sikh community members. The truck driven by Satav and Dambre was coming from Murtizapur. The investigations revealed that the victims were shouting ‘bachao bachao’ when the cabin caught fire. The attackers, however, ran away from the spot. However, the JMFC court acquitted all accused due to lack of concrete evidence and eyewitnesses turning hostile.

THE PENSION

Based on centre’s recommendations of a special package for riot victims’ families, the state government gives Rs2500 per month. The recipients get a lump sum of Rs30,000 every January. The package was based on recommendations of the justice Nanavati commission appointed by the centre after the riots.