NCP leader Ramdas Korde arrested for 'enslaving' tribal in Palghar

Accused Ramdas Korde. Pics/Hanif Patel

After he evaded Palghar police for two days, the deputy president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Mokhada taluka, Ramdas Korde, was arrested on Sunday for subjecting a tribal man to bonded labour. Police said Korde went underground after a case was registered against him but he had wanted to surrender later. Korde had forced Kalu Pawar, 48, into bonded labour since November 2020 after the latter borrowed Rs 500 to buy a kafan - cloth used to wrap a dead body - for the last rites of his 13-year-old son. Korde has been booked by the police under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

The in-charge of Mokhada police station, Satish Gavai, said, "We arrested him on Sunday. After we registered a case against him, Korde went underground. We formed two teams to arrest him as initially, we learnt that he is hiding at his relatives' house in Jawhar. But he was not there.

Kalu Pawar's residence in Asegaon village

"We had sent another team to Nashik as we suspected him of hiding there but our efforts did not yield results. Meanwhile, Korde's family told him about our hunt, so he came under pressure. "He was heading to the police station to surrender on Sunday when our team nabbed him midway," Gavai said.

"Korde is the deputy president of the NCP in Mokhada taluka. He will be produced before the court on Monday for the remand hearing. As of now, we have not been able to interrogate him as the visit by a politician in Asegaon to meet Pawar's family was scheduled," Gavai said.

Also read: Palghar: No roads, tribals carry pregnant woman in makeshift stretcher for 5 km

Korde visited Pawar's house

Pawar ended his life by hanging on July 13. The Mokhada police claim to have learnt about his suicide only after his wife Savitra Pawar approached them to register a case against Korde. Korde allegedly made Pawar work in his fields without pay.

"We have learnt that on July 13, after Pawar committed suicide, the accused reached his house. In the presence of a mob, Korde intimidatingly asked Savitra if she doubts anyone for abetting Pawar's suicide.

Accused Ramdas Korde

"Korde has a dominating personality because of the backing of a local MLA," claimed Vivek Pandit, tribal activist and chairman of a panel appointed by the state government to check the status of tribal schemes. "I can't digest the claim that Mokhada police could not learn about the suicide for two weeks," said Pandit.

According to Pandit, he was on an official visit to Mokhada on August 1 when his colleagues informed him about Pawar's suicide in Asegaon village. "I rushed to meet the bereaved family. The wife of the deceased told me about the whole incident and I recorded her supplementary statement," Pandit said.

Korde feared murder case

"I told Savitra to approach the police to register a case as it is a sensitive matter. On August 2, she reached Mokhada police but only an Accidental Death Report (ADR) was registered. Till August 4, the police had not seen the body, nor had they conducted a panchanama," Pandit claimed.

Savitra Pawar with her daughter

Pawar's body was exhumed on August 4 and sent to JJ Hospital for a post-mortem. "When I started following up in the case, Korde and his godfather feared that they might be booked in a murder case. So, Korde forced the police to exhume the body to conduct a post-mortem only to safeguard himself and to say that he died by suicide and not murder," Pandit said.

Pandit also claimed that Korde's arrest took place after he and his associates planned an agitation. "Korde is a powerful person in Mokhada taluka. After 75 years of Independence, it is a matter of shame that poor people are being enslaved at the hands of politically influential people like Korde," Pandit said.

Mon
Day Korde will be produced in court for remand hearing

Jul 13
Day Kalu Pawar took his own life