INDIA: Alleged rape and murder of a young woman in West Bengal 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, a human rights organisation in West Bengal, about the alleged rape and murder of a woman in Hajipur village, 24 Parganas (North) District, West Bengal, India.

Masoora Bibi, a widow lived in her in-laws house with her three children. On 18 June 2005, some villagers hearing the cries of her children, rushed to her house and found her partially clothed dead body in front of the toilet. They also found some marks on her neck, which indicated that she could have been strangled. The villagers suspected her brother-in-law, Aminur Sardar alias Chhotu and three of his friends to be involved in this murder. It is alleged that the perpetrators ran away fearing that Masoora would disclose everything, not knowing that she was already dead.

The next day, the police claimed that she had died of sunstroke. This angered the villagers who formed their own fact finding team and found that Masoora was raped by her brother-in-law and his friends and then killed, since she was aware of their identity.

The villagers caught three of the four suspects, and beat them up. Aminur Sardar’s father was forced to register some property in her children’s name in front of a huge crowd of people. It was only then that the police took action and arrested the three suspects on charges of rape and murder under Sections 376 (G)/302/201/109/34 IPC. However, the main perpetrator Aminur Sardar has not been arrested.

This incident shows the police negligence and inaction which caused total lawlessness in West Bengal, India. In many cases, as seen in this case, the police do not pay primary attention to the incidents. As a result, the lack of a proper primary investigation quite often ends up leading to torture and ill-treatment of suspects by the police during the investigation process.

In light of the above, please intervene immediately and ask the Director General of Police to arrest Aminur Sardar as soon as possible and conduct a thorough investigation by an agency independent of the local police regarding police negligence in this case.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Masoora Bibi, age 23 years, widow of Sirajul Sardar
Address of the victim: Hajipur Village, Abjanagar (North), under Deganga Police Station, 24 Parganas (north) District, West Bengal, India
Place of incident: Victim’s house in Hajipur Village
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Aminur Sardar alias Chhotu, victim’s brother-in-law, son of Mujibur Sardar
2. Safiqul Mondal,
3. Mahiful
4. Sariful
(All the five from Hajipur village)
Date of incident: 18 June 2005

Masoora Masoora Bibi, a 23-year-old widow, lived with her three children in her in-laws house. On 18 June 2005, people in the neighborhood heard the cries of children coming from Masoora’s house. On entering, they found Masoora’s partially clothed dead body in front of the toilet. They also saw some marks on her neck, which indicated that she may have been strangled to death. The villagers suspected her brother-in-law, Aminur Sardar alias Chhotu, and three of his friends were responsible for this. But the men had already disappeared fearing that Masoora would narrate everything, not knowing that she was already dead.

According to the villagers, the police did not arrive until the following day and then proclaimed that Masoora’s death was due to sunstroke. The villagers however, firmly believed that Masoora had been killed and Masoora’s father Abul Qasim, from Korapara village lodged a complaint with the police regarding the incident. On June 19, the police sent Masoora’s body to the District Hospital Barasat, and then handed it over to her family.

Subsequently, the villagers formed their own fact-finding team and discovered some crucial facts. Safiqul, one of the suspects, admitted that he was involved in the murder along with Aminur Sardar and two other friends. According to him, Aminur Sardar was attracted to Masoora, which she did not approve of. So on June 18, he and his friends forcibly took her to the kitchen and raped her. They then suffocated her till she died.

The villagers began searching for and succeeded in apprehending Aminur Sardar’s friends. Aminur Sardar however, ran away. The suspects were then taken to a school ground and beaten up. Aminur Sardar’s father-in-law was forced to register some property in her children’s name in front of a huge crowd of villagers. The villagers also played the taped confession of the suspect.

It was only then that the police took the three suspects into their custody and filed a case against them on charges of rape and murder under Sections 376 (G)/302/201/109/34 IPC in the Deganga police station (case no: 170, dated 20.6.2005). This was confirmed by the officer on duty of the Deganga Police Station, Mr Anil Chandra Das. All the accused have been produced before the court of the Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, Barasat.

It is quite disturbing to note that the police failed to act initially in this case and only took action after the initiatives were taken by the villagers. This once again points to the failure of rule of law in the country. This case is also a clear example of the little faith that the ordinary people in the country have on the very people who are supposed to enforce the law and safeguard them and their interests.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the Director General of Police, West Bengal urging him to immediately order an impartial investigation by an independent authority.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER