Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-188-2011

4 October 2011
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INDIA: Woman commits suicide after suffering from police abuse in Murshidabad

ISSUES: Torture; police abuse; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learnt that a woman victim of police abuse committed suicide in Jemoumapara village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India. Ms Mithu Dey was abused and assaulted in the presence of several villagers by personnel of the Kandi Police Station. The police raided her house on 3 August 2011 in search of her husband, who was wanted in a criminal case. Without any arrest warrant, Mithu Dey and her minor son were taken to Kandi Police Station where they were further subjected to torture, before being released the following evening. Soon after returning home, Mithu hung herself in her room, reportedly being unable to overcome the mental and physical trauma she had suffered at the hands of the police.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to information from MASUM, a human rights group in West Bengal, Mithu Dey was abused and assaulted in the presence of several villagers by personnel of the Kandi Police Station who raided her house on 3 August 2011 in search of her husband, who was wanted in a criminal case. Without any arrest warrant, Mithu Dey and her minor son were taken to Kandi Police Station where they were further subjected to torture, before being released the following evening. Soon after returning home, Mithu hung herself in her room, reportedly being unable to overcome the mental and physical trauma she had suffered at the hands of the police.

The victim’s husband Mr. Rajkumar Dey is an accused in connection with a criminal case (no. 318/2011 dated 3 August 2011 under sections 302/201 of the Indian Penal Code). The case was registered for the murder of Sukumar Dey, a relative of the victim. Since the lodging of the case Mr Rajkumar Dey started to hide due to fear of police harassment.

At the time of Sukumar’s murder, he was at the residence of Ms. Binapani Dey, Rajkumar’s mother. She used to live alone as there was an allegedly uncomfortable relationship between herself and her son. Every night one of her relatives or someone from the village used to stay at her residence with her. On the night of Sukumar’s murder, he was the one staying with her. The villagers suspect Rajkumar of the murder as he was not seen in the village since then.

The Kandi police visited Rajkumar’s house but could not find him. On August 3 at about 11am police personnel Sub-Inspector Mr Premashish Chattaraj, Sub-Inspector Mr Haralal Biswas and female constable Kakali Mukherjee again raided his house, but again could not find him. They became furious and ransacked the house. They also allegedly assaulted Rajkumar’s wife and son. According to Mithu’s neighbours Ms Sunita Dey, wife of Mr Soumendranath Dey and Ms Parvati Dey, wife of Mr Jagabandhu Dey, police constable Kakali Mukherjee was instructed by the two Sub-Inspectors to grab Mithu’s hair and slapped her face while asking for the whereabouts of her husband. The police then forcibly took Mithu and her son Sourav to the police station, where they were illegally detained. There, under the pretence of interrogation, they were tortured.

Mithu and Sourav were released on August 4. Unable to bear the trauma of the humiliation and torture she suffered, Mithu committed suicide that night, as reported by her family members and the local villagers. An unnatural death case was registered at the police station (no. 175/2011 dated 5 August 2011). The post mortem examination was held on the same day at Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital. The doctor who conducted the examination, Dr Hansaraj Chattopadhya refused to disclose the cause of death to MASUM.

When MASUM visited the Kandi Police Station on August 7 to inquire about the police atrocities committed against Mithu, Inspector-in-Charge Jotish Chandra Roy only said he was not present at the station on that day, and would not disclose any further information regarding the incident.

We have learnt that Rajkumar surrendered himself to the court and is presently in custody. The whereabouts of Rajkumar’s mother and son are presently unknown.

Detaining a person with the intention to force the surrender of a relative is an offence under Section 348 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Similarly, voluntarily causing hurt to a person to extract a confession is also an offence punishable under Section 330 of the Penal Code. If found guilty, the former offense calls for a mandatory imprisonment that may extend to three years and the latter for imprisonment up to seven years.

Detaining the relatives of a suspect or an absconder is a common but illegal practice, followed by the law enforcement agencies in India. The police had no reason whatsoever to detain the victim and her child at the police station for a day. In addition, they have also tortured the victim at the time they searched the victim's house and as alleged, at the police station. It is unfortunate that the victim killed herself after release from custody. The fact that the victim committed suicide immediately after her release from custody, is an aggravating factor that has to be taken into account while the case is investigated. If the investigation proves that the reason for the victim to commit suicide, is the torture and the resultant shock the victim suffered, from being illegally detained with her child at the police station and of being tortured, the police officers responsible for the crime are also punishable for yet another crime, under Section 306 of the Penal Code, for abetting suicide. The offense carries a punishment of imprisonment that may extend to a period of 10 years and fine.

Above all this, the police have no legal authority to detain a minor at the police station, as it has reported in this case.

It is reported that the police have not kept any details as to the detention of the victim and her child at the police station. This is also a usual practice the police follows in India in order to illegally detain persons. Despite repeated directions from the Supreme Court of India, the latest in the D. K. Basu case, which even led to a comprehensive amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the police fails to comply every statutory provisions that are required to be observed while arresting and detaining a person. This case is one more unfortunate example of this illegal and inhuman practice.

The AHRC condemns the brutal behaviour of the Kandi police that led to the death of a woman. The incident must be investigated and the responsible officers suitably punished, and steps taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the authorities below demanding an immediate and effective inquiry into this incident. The police officers responsible for the illegal detention and torture of the victim must be prosecuted and punished accordingly.

Please note that the AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture calling for his intervention into this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

INDIA: The suicide of a woman after suffering from police abuse in Murshidabad should be investigated

Name of victim: Ms. Mithu Dey (deceased), wife of Mr. Rajkumar Dey, residing at Jemoumapara village, Murshidabad district
Names of alleged perpetrators: Sub-Inspector Mr. Premashish Chattaraj, Sub-Inspector Mr. Haralal Biswas and female constable Ms. Kakali Mukherjee of Kandi Police Station, Murshidabad district, West Bengal
Date of incident: 3 August 2011
Place of incident: Kandi Police Station, Murshidabad district

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the suicide of a female victim of police abuse in Jemoumapara village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal.

I have learnt that Ms Mithu Dey was abused and assaulted in the presence of several villagers by personnel of the Kandi Police Station. The police raided her house on 3 August 2011 in search of her husband, who was wanted in a criminal case. Without any arrest warrant, Mithu Dey and her minor son were taken to Kandi Police Station where they were further subjected to torture, before being released the following evening. Soon after returning home, Mithu hung herself in her room, reportedly being unable to overcome the mental and physical trauma she had suffered at the hands of the police.

The victim’s husband Mr. Rajkumar Dey is an accused in the murder case of Sukumar Dey, the victim’s relative (case no. 318/2011 dated 3 August 2011 under sections 302/201 of the Indian Penal Code). Since the lodging of the case Mr. Rajkumar Dey started to hide due to fear of police harassment.

At the time of Sukumar’s murder, he was at the residence of Ms. Binapani Dey, Rajkumar’s mother. She used to live alone as there was an allegedly uncomfortable relationship between herself and her son. Every night one of her relatives or someone from the village used to stay at her residence with her. On the night of Sukumar’s murder, he was the one staying with her. The villagers suspect Rajkumar of the murder as he was not seen in the village since then.

The Kandi police visited Rajkumar’s house but could not find him. On August 3 at about 11am police personnel Sub-Inspector Premashish Chattaraj, Sub-Inspector Haralal Biswas and female constable Kakali Mukherjee again raided his house, but again could not find him. They became furious and ransacked the house. They also allegedly assaulted Rajkumar’s wife and son. According to Mithu’s neighbours Ms. Sunita Dey, wife of Mr. Soumendranath Dey and Ms. Parvati Dey, wife of Mr. Jagabandhu Dey, police constable Kakali Mukherjee was instructed by the two Sub-Inspectors to grab Mithu’s hair and slap her face while asking for the whereabouts of her husband. The police then forcibly took Mithu and her son Sourav to the police station, where they were illegally detained. There, under the pretence of interrogation, they were tortured.

Mithu and Sourav were released on August 4. Unable to bear the trauma of the humiliation and torture she suffered, Mithu committed suicide that night, as reported by her family members and the local villagers. An unnatural death case was registered at the police station (no. 175/2011 dated 5 August 2011). The post mortem examination was held on the same day at Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital. The doctor who conducted the examination, Dr Hansaraj Chattopadhya refused to disclose the cause of death to human rights activists.

When human rights activists visited the Kandi Police Station on August 7 to inquire about the police atrocities committed against Mithu, Inspector-in-Charge Jotish Chandra Roy only said he was not present at the station on that day, and would not disclose any further information regarding the incident.

I have learnt that Rajkumar surrendered himself to the court and is presently in custody. The whereabouts of Rajkumar’s mother and son are presently unknown.

Detaining a person with the intention to force the surrender of a relative is an offence under Section 348 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Similarly, voluntarily causing hurt to a person to extract a confession is also an offence punishable under Section 330 of the Penal Code. If found guilty, the former offense calls for a mandatory imprisonment that may extend to three years and the latter for imprisonment up to seven years.

Detaining the relatives of a suspect or an absconder is a common but illegal practice, followed by the law enforcement agencies in India. The police had no reason whatsoever to detain the victim and her child at the police station for a day. In addition, they have also tortured the victim at the time they searched the victim's house and as alleged, at the police station. It is unfortunate that the victim killed herself after release from custody. The fact that the victim committed suicide immediately after her release from custody, is an aggravating factor that has to be taken into account while the case is investigated. If the investigation proves that the reason for the victim to commit suicide, is the torture and the resultant shock the victim suffered, from being illegally detained with her child at the police station and of being tortured, the police officers responsible for the crime are also punishable for yet another crime, under Section 306 of the Penal Code, for abetting suicide. The offense carries a punishment of imprisonment that may extend to a period of 10 years and fine.

Above all this, the police have no legal authority to detain a minor at the police station, as it has reported in this case.

It is reported that the police have not kept any details as to the detention of the victim and her child at the police station. This is also a usual practice the police follows in India in order to illegally detain persons. Despite repeated directions from the Supreme Court of India, the latest in the D. K. Basu case, which even led to a comprehensive amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the police fails to comply every statutory provisions that are required to be observed while arresting and detaining a person. This case is one more unfortunate example of this illegal and inhuman practice.

I am outraged by the brutal behaviour of the Kandi police that led to the untimely demise of a woman.

I therefore urge you:

1. that the police officers named above is immediately suspended from active duty;
2. the records at the police station, pertaining to the date on which the victim and her child was detained be immediately seized and kept under safe custody by the Superintendent of Police Murshidabad district;
3. that the case be investigated by the state police, and that the investigation led by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police and supervised by a judicial officer;
4. that the police take all possible steps to locate the victim's child and mother-in-law and their statements recorded;
5. that the statement of the child is recorded after providing the child adequate counselling and in the presence of the counsellor and a relative of choice of the child;
6. that if the investigation in the case reveals that the police had tortured the victim and/or the victim was illegally detained by the police, the officers charged and tried for these offences;
7. that MASUM being the only organisation that has come forward to help the victim family be informed about the progress of the investigation and actions taken in the case.
Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Ms Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Building, Kolkata, West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: + 91 33 22144328
Email: cm_wb@nic.in

2. Chief Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Building, Kolkata, West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: + 91 33 22144328
Email: chiefsec@wb.gov.in

3. Additional Chief Secretary (Home)
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Building, Kolkata, West Bengal
INDIA
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in

4. Director General & Inspector General of Police
Government of West Bengal
West Bengal Police Directorate
Writers' Building, Kolkata, West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: + 91 33 22145486
Email: dgp_westbengal@gmail.com

7. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 2338 4863
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

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