Workers lynch tea garden owner in West Bengal

SILIGURI: In yet another shocker for Bengal, the owner of Sonali Tea Estate in Bagrakote, Dooars, was lynched by workers on Saturday evening during negotiations for payment of arrears.
Rajesh Jhunjhunwala was dragged out by a group of workers in the middle of the discussions, stabbed, hacked and battered to death. It brought back chilling memories of the lynching of Northbrook Jute Mill CEO HK Maheswari in June and the murder of Dalmore assistant manager Ajit Panwar in March.
Six tea garden workers have been arrested and raids are continuing to nab more suspects. There was considerable tension in the area, police sources said.
Sonali TE is a small garden of about 426 acres, 40km from Malbazar on the way to Siliguri. It has a long history of trouble and was shut for some time. There was also some dispute over ownership and nobody seems to know when Jhunjhunwala, who also goes by the name Rajesh Agarwal, took over, say sources. According to records, the garden produced nearly 1.63 lakh kg tea leaves in 2010. It has no factory of its own and sells leaves to larger tea estates.

Tea garden labourers on strike are pictured beside the closed main gate of the Mohorgaon Tea Garden on the outskirts of Siliguri, on November 11, 2014, during the first day of a tea garden strike. (AFP photo)
Workers had not been paid for six months, say sources. “From what we have gathered, garden workers were agitating since early morning and gheraoed the management for their arrears. In the afternoon, Jhunjhunwala, who lives in Malbazar, arrived and started negotiating with workers. There were heated exchanges after which somebody dragged him to a spot in front of the office, where he was murdered,” said an officer.
Some police sources said he was stoned to death while others say he was stabbed. The workers scattered after they realized that Jhunjhunwala had died.
The garden has about 360 workers. Before 2009, Citu was the dominating union and then Trinamool Congress took over. Sources said many workers wanted to quit the Trinamool union because their demands were not being met.

Workers plucking leaves in a tea garden in north Bengal. Planters say trouble erupts in smaller gardens during this time of the year as the price of leaves fall. (Getty Images photo)
“Workers say they have not been paid for months. The management hasn’t even deposited their provident fund share or supplied rations or firewood to the workers. Details are sketchy as the tea estate was a proprietorship and Jhunjhunwala wasn’t a member of any association of tea planters. Some workers have also alleged that the management was trying to evict them from the ‘coolie lines’ to extend the garden,” a source said.
According to a tea planter, trouble erupts in smaller gardens during this time of the year as the price of leaves fall.
“Larger gardens can process their own tea and sell in the market. Smaller gardens barely get Rs 2-3 per kg of tea during this season. The owners then find it difficult to pay wages and trouble erupts. The arrears keep accruing and before long they become unmanageable,” he said.