Yeshwanth (name changed) had been living happily with his wife and 6 children in the house that he had built on inherited land. The property was a portion of the 7 acres that his father had cleared in the forest area, with due permission from the Tehsildar, and divided between Yeshwanth and his 2 brothers. His brothers too had constructed houses in their portion of the land. They cultivated the land and reared animals for a living. It was not a luxurious life, but they did manage to make ends meet, and were happy. Life was going on smoothly for the 3 brothers, until a few years down the line when tribals from the neighbouring village came with the claim that the land was rightfully theirs as it fell in the tribal belt. The tribals went to the extent of destroying their crops and forcefully taking the yield from the land.
One evening as it was getting dark, Yeshwanth saw 3 tribals ploughing his land. When he confronted them, a scuffle broke out and they started throwing stones. Unfortunately, a stone that Yeshwanth threw back at them accidentally killed one of the 3 tribals. The next day the police, accompanied by a huge crowd, arrested Yeshwanth. He was beaten up mercilessly, despite him narrating the truth. He was thrown into jail – the sub-jail first, then the district jail, and finally the circle jail. Fearing the tribals, nobody came to his rescue. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. As he was poor, he could not hire a lawyer to fight his case. His family too was on the streets with no place to live, as they had been driven out of the village.
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC
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