Conduct fresh probe into food refusal at quarantine centre: Civil society

Ranchi/Hazaribag: Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, an umbrella organisation of various civil society bodies, on Wednesday demanded a fresh probe into the incident of five Brahmin migrant labourers refusing meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community at a quarantine centre in Hazaribag.
The mahasabha questioned that while deputy commissioner Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh had confirmed the incident and the same was published in newspaper reports, why did he change the version later and blame local politicking behind the incident.
The body also sought a clarification from Singh as to why no action was taken against the labourers who refused to eat food on casteist grounds. “Clarification should be provided by the deputy commissioner, BDO, and the mukhiya as to why dry ration was arranged at the quarantine centre for a few labourers and why a confirmation regarding the incident was given to the media,” the mahasabha said in a statement.
Siraj, a member of the mahasabha, said a TOI report in the May 25 edition quoted the DC confirming the incident. He added that the DC had also said dry ration was provided to the migrants who refused food.
“The DC later retweeted the mahasabha tweet with a clarification that an investigation was carried out at the quarantine centre under Banaso panchayat by the additional collector and the incident was found to be baseless,” Siraj said questioning the DC’s confirmation and his U-turn later on.
Talking to TOI the DC reiterated the contents of his tweet and said that during investigation, it was found that the matter of food being refused was a part of local politics and it was sorted out by the mukhiya. “I had confirmed the incident based on immediate information and later constituted an investigation under the additional collector, but was convinced that there were rumours behind the incident,” he said.
The mahasabha, also said that a video of the cooks in the quarantine centre is also making the rounds, in which they are heard saying that the news is concocted and no such incident took place. “In that video, it is also clear that someone is dictating what to say from behind the camera,” Siraj said, demanding a fresh investigation into the matter.
“The information about the procedures adopted in the investigation by the additional collector should be made public and strict action should be taken if anyone is found guilty of patronising casteist acts,” he said.