Obituary
Comrade Baleshwar Choudhury

The TADA Act enacted during the phase of terrorism in Punjab is no longer in force, but social activists of Bihar jailed under this Act in Bihar are dying one after the other in Bihar’s jails. The government which boasts of social justice refuses to review this situation. Comrade Baleshwar Choudhury aka Pahalwan Ji was a resident of Ibrahimpur. He passed away in jail on 30 January 2017 at the age of 82. He had been in jail from 2003 for the Bhadasi TADA incident. He used to farm singharas (water chestnuts) in the Bhadasi pond when he was framed on false charges and jailed under TADA. 5 of the 14 TADA convicts have died due to negligence by the government and the administration. 9 people are still in jail. Some of them are old and some ailing. They have completed the terms of their sentences, but the government has not released them. These include Comrade Tribhuwan Sharma, Comrade Chudaman Bhagat, Comrade Dr Jagdish Yadav, Comrade Arun Bharti, Comrade Laxman Choudhury, Comrade Shyam Choudhury, Comrade Ajit Kumar, Comrade Arvind Kumar and Comrade Madho Choudhury.

 

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