At Camp Fear, don’t talk deadlines

By then, the rebels had rounded nearly 30 people from the camp. Several shots were fired in the air before one of the rebels began blowing a whistle. This was a signal to leave the camp.

‘‘They had fanned themselves to all sides of the camp. Hearing the whistle they gathered near the main gate to leave. It was then that we realised these were no 50-60 people but close to 150-200. They knew exactly which barrack to go to and one must say, they scrupulously avoided the residential wing. Our project head was in his house, so could not be captured.’’

But the intruders forced Kumar and the rest to accompany them. ‘‘They ordered us to run. If anyone fell behind, he was kicked, beaten with a stick or hit with a rifle butt. It was like we were a herd of cattle and they the herdsmen.’’

The further the group got from the camp into the country, Kumar says, the pace slackened. ‘‘Some of us could not just run that hard, and many of us received blows along the way, but managed to keep up. After about 3 km, they stopped and all of us were made to squat in a row. Then one after the other they asked us what was our job at the site.’’

One of the ground rules that Kumar and his men were acquainted with was not to disclose their actual job profile. The more the importance of the person, the worse his plight could be. However, the rebels on this occasion were hardly sparing. ‘‘They simply did not stop beating us and kept asking who the seniormost among us was. When no one uttered a word, they threatened to kill us all. I was the most senior in the crowd. After sometime I could not stomach the way others were being bashed, so I owned up.’’

Kumar was taken separately and told that the Maoist rebels wanted a share of the contract amount. ‘‘I told them that I was the most senior person here, but was not the owner of the company, who usually decides such matters. They would not listen, and each time I explained, they hit me with a rifle butt. Main to unko bas itna hi kahta raha ki main kuchch hazaar rupaye ka mulazim hoon, malik nahin (All I kept telling them was I am an employee worth a few thousand rupees and not the owner).’’

The relentless beating continued. ‘‘Finally, after about an hour, when I had told them all the details I could about the owner and other senior company officials at Delhi, they let us go with a message that no work should be carried out till they reached an arrangement with our owners. I promised to convey the message. We made our way back slowly to the site. Police had come by then, but these rebels had already disappeared into the countryside.’’

Kumar had suffered several injuries and had to be airlifted to Delhi for further treatment. ‘‘I have a broken rib and stitches on my head. My shoulder was dislocated and it took me two months to recover. I have returned to Bihar to work because I want to finish this project. But with no security assurance, no good civil engineer wants to come here. Deadlines being set at Delhi carry no meaning in this place. Our goal should be to finish this job, even though it may take longer than usual. Doing that much in this state is no less than an achievement.’’

He is not wrong. After the attack, 75 per cent of the staff at the camp returned home. There was no construction activity till early last month. It is understood that parallel communication has been on between the contractors and rebels. According to NHAI sources, the company declined full police protection and opted for buying peace.

In the camp, work comes to a stop every evening as people are unwilling to work at night. Schedules have gone awry with the company now hoping to get at least a six-month extension from NHAI.

(Tomorrow: Brides on exercycles, infants on treadmills at a camp on Maharashtra-Karnataka border)