“Release the innocent. Conduct a genuine investigation. Bring to justice those who were responsible for the Kotshila Rail Roko unrest.” Countless members of the Kurmi community across several villages in the Kotshila police station area of Purulia district, West Bengal, have renewed this demand regarding the protests they held in September last year, in which several members clashed with the police.A few days ago, the BJP-led government in West Bengal announced to the media that the administrative actions taken during the rail blockade agitation in Kotshila would be reviewed afresh. However, the people most affected by those actions say they know nothing about such a decision. No representative from the police, rail or general administration has visited their villages to communicate this or explain what the review process entails.This is the second time The Wire visited villages in the Kotshila region. In a previous detailed report, published on October 7, 2025, this reporter documented the allegations of police violence during the rail blockade movement. At the time, an atmosphere of extreme fear prevailed across the Kurmi villages. Most men had fled their homes to avoid arrest, leaving only women and children behind. A haunting silence hung over the villages. Sadhana Mahato of Jiudaru village. Her son Sahadeb Mahato was arrested in last year’s protest. Photo: Madhu Sudan ChatterjeeThe residents have repeatedly described themselves as victims of severe police repression and many of them allege that they were subjected to inhuman treatment, and sent to jail despite having committed no offence.Yudhishthir Mahato, a resident of Chitorpur village in Kotshila, told that The Wire report had helped the protests gain ground.“We took the report to the then Superintendent of Police in Purulia, Abhijit Banerjee. It was largely on the basis of [The Wire’s] report that people from outside the area showed solidarity, demanding the release of those they believed were innocent. Faced with mounting public scrutiny and pressure, the police were eventually compelled to halt their one-sided crackdown.“Those who had been arrested were ultimately granted bail. Bringing a measure of relief to families who had endured months of fear, uncertainty and anguish,” he added.What happened on September 20?In pursuit of official recognition for their distinct Kurmi language – Kurmali bhasa – and their long-standing demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, several organisations representing the Kurmi community called for a nationwide rail blockade on September 20 last year. Locally termed ‘Rail toka’, the protest was envisioned as a powerful assertion of the community’s identity and constitutional rights.However, in the days leading up to the agitation, a widespread police crackdown was launched allegedly on members of the Kurmi community in Kotshila and several neighbouring villages in Purulia district of West Bengal. Residents and local community leaders claimed that police actions created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, casting a shadow over the preparations for the proposed movement and leaving many families deeply distressed.What are Kurmis demanding?The Kurmi community lives across Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Out of these, however, the largest number of Kurmi people reside in Jharkhand, followed by West Bengal. In Bengal, their population is concentrated in the Junglemahal region – across Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur. More than 36% of Purulia district’s total population is Kurmi.“This ancient Kurmi community was recognised as a Scheduled Tribe up to 1931. Later, in 1950, their ST status was withdrawn, and we were treated as the general category. Further, in 1991, the Central Government included us under Other Backward Classes (OBC). Still, we are identified only as OBC,” said Atul Chandra Mahato, a senior lawyer at the Purulia District Court. He added that since the withdrawal of Scheduled Tribe status, the Kurmi community has been protesting in various ways against the Union government’s decision and demanding that Kurmis be included in the ST category. “In reality, Kurmis are a 65,000-year-old primitive tribal people of our country. Why should they be deprived of ST status?” he asked.Bhorot Mahato, a researcher of the Kurmi language and a resident of Bankura, told The Wire, “Despite the fact that the Kurmi language has been taught at Ranchi University since 1971, most Kurmi people speak their mother tongue, Kurmali. Why is this language not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution?”Several Kurmi leaders allege that the BJP is not willing to accept them as tribal people. “The Union government does not want to listen to us at all,” said Rabindranath Mahato, a resident of Barabazar, Purulia, and a leader of the Kudmi Sena organisation of West Bengal. He further alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government was also silent on the demands of the Kurmis.Several leaders of the ongoing Kurmi movement pointed out that despite discussions held three years ago, the Bengal government has not made any recommendations to the Union government regarding their demands.It was against this backdrop that the community launched an agitation and called for rail blockade on September 20 last year.However, two days ahead of it, the Calcutta high court had ruled that it stands by its past order of September 19, 2023, that rail and road blockades were illegal. However, the high court expressed support for the Kurmi community’s demands and directed the Nabanna, the state administrative headquarters, to hold discussions with the Kurmi community. However, the then TMC government did not hold any talks.“In fact, from the morning of September 19, the police visited villages in the Kotshila police station area of Purulia district, urging residents against the rail blockade while harassing them in various ways,” Thakurdas Mahato, a resident of Bagudi village, told The Wire.His son, Bhudeb Mahato (25) and nephew Dharmendra Mahato (33) were arrested on the morning of September 20. Both had never participated in the movement.Rita Mahato, a housewife from Chitorpur village, narrated a similar story about how her father-in-law was arrested. “My father-in-law, Mukunda Mahato, is a Jhumur singer (a traditional folk music form). He was going to our newly constructed house in the village. The police arrested him on the way at 10 AM on 20th morning. “He has never been involved in the Kurmi movement,” she said.Mukunda Mahato, a Jhumur folk artist from Chitorpur village, who was allegedly arrested by the police without any reason on September 20, 2025. Photo: Madhu Sudan ChatterjeeBy then, several villages came to know of the arrests and started protesting. According to some villagers, Adivasi Kurmi Samaj leaders Ajit Prasad Mahato and Nripen Mahato further incited people to block the Kotshila rail line. They alleged that it was spread on social media.By afternoon on September 20, people from different villages went to Kotshila railway station and blocked the railway tracks. At that time, no trains were passing through Kotshila. However, the protesters clashed with the police, who used batons to disperse them. Five police personnel were wounded, while several protesters were seriously injured.Following this incident, the police unleashed a massive crackdown on Jiudaru village, near Kotshila railway station, along with nearby villages of Bagudi, Chitorpur and Kotshila.A total of 51 people were arrested in connection with the protest. They spent 33 days in Purulia jail before being released. Most of them were poor daily-wage earners. They alleged they were charged under non-bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Even today, many of them are compelled to suspend their work periodically to appear before the court as the cases remain pending.Ahead of Bengal Assembly elections, Ajit Mahato, a prominent leader of the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, allegedly met with Union home minister Amit Shah. Shah allegedly assured him that the Kurmi language would be considered for inclusion in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, and that the government would also examine the long- standing demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the kurmi community.Adibasi kurmi samaj leaders spread this assurance widely across the Jangalmahal region.During the Assembly elections, a large section of the Kurmi community extended its support to the BJP, which ultimately emerged victorious across Assembly constituencies in the Jangalmahal districts of Bankura and Purulia.After the election results, discussions resumed regarding a review of the cases registered in connection with the September incident.Renewed demands“We want all innocent people implicated in this case to be cleared of the charges against them. We were never involved in any ethnic or community-based movement, yet the police arrested us without any justification. Those who called for the Rail Roko and then remained safe in the background while ordinary people were left to face what we believe was a brutal police crackdown were never touched by the authorities,” said Mukunda Mahato, a Jhumur folk artist and resident of Chitorpur village, while tending his goats in a field. Mahato was among those arrested on September 20 last year.“How can such people claim to be leaders of the community? Their role on that day should also be investigated. Those found responsible must be held accountable and punished,” he told The Wire.Similar sentiments were echoed in Jiudaru village near Kotshila railway station, where residents alleged that last year’s police crackdown was most severe.“I had returned home from work and was resting inside my house when the police dragged me out and sent me to jail. My family survived near-starvation for a month. I was never part of the Rail Roko movement,” said Bhuta Mahato, a land labourer and resident of the village.Ananda Mahato, another villager who was arrested in last year’s, his mother Mona and wife Bandana Mahato have demanded the release of all innocent persons arrested in connection with the incident.Ananda Mahato, a land labourer in Jiudaru village, near Kotshila station of Purulia. Photo: Madhu Sudan Chatterjee‘They used us’Several of those arrested claimed that after their detention last year, the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj had appealed for financial assistance to support their legal battle. According to them, many people contributed money for that purpose. “Where did that money go?” Mahato asked. “Today, we are fighting our cases in Purulia court with our own hard-earned money.” The victims allege that members of the Kurmi community were used to further the interests of a few powerful people.Speaking to The Wire on the issue, local resident and BJP state committee member Sripati Mahato confirmed that Ajit Mahato had met Union home minister Amit Shah, who had allegedly assured him that the demand for recognition of Kurmi language would be considered.Sripati Mahato, a BJP state leader from Purulia district. Photo: Madhu Sudan ChatterjeeHe also noted that Ajit Mahato had never been associated with the BJP and that Ajit’s son, Biswajit Mahato, had no prior links with the party but was elected as a BJP candidate from the Joypur assembly constituency in the recent elections.He alleged that local residents had not been formally informed by the administration about any review process concerning the cases.A few days ago, prior to his recent transfer, former Superintendent of Police, Purulia, Vaibhab Tewary told The Wire that the administration had directed a review of the Kotshila incident. “We have already begun the review process. The findings collected so far have been submitted to the higher authorities,” Tewary said.