Coercion in Nandigram

In response to the tirade against my article on Nandigram from Sujato Bhadra and Siddhartha Guha Ray (epw, September 22) I would like to make two points.

Firstly, whatever I have written on Nandigram was on the basis of three visits to the affected areas and meetings with the local administration as well as with people injured and traumatised as a result of the incidents on March 14, and with people uprooted from their homes and forced to live in camps as a result of violent actions from the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC). Regarding many alleged atrocities during police action on March 15, which have been mentioned by Bhadra and Guha Ray, we have not had any concrete evidence (such as names and addresses of victims, location of incidents, etc) so far in spite of having asked the various agencies that approached the National Commission for Women with these allegations to provide us with such evidence. If, as Bhadra and Guha Ray claim, they have such evidence in their possession, they should send copies of these to the National Commission for Women for independent investigation.