INDIA: Pregnant woman raped by Indian Army soldiers

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Indian Army personnel in Kokrajhar District of Assam have gang raped Mrs. Sarita Devi, who is eight months pregnant, during raids carried out for “Operation All Out” on 8 August 2015. The incident took place when soldiers attached to 10 Bihar Regiment arrived to apprehend Sarita Devi’s husband, who they suspect to be a part of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) Militant group in Assam. When the soldiers could not find her husband, they pulled Sarita to a nearby school and raped her after threatening to kill her if she were to keep lying about her husband’s whereabouts. Mr. Mehta, a Major at the 10 Bihar Regiment has denied the allegations of rape done by his men and has filed a counter First Information Report (FIR) against Sarita Devi.

CASE NARRATIVE: (Based on fact finding documentation by WinG – Women in Governance, a network of women activists NGOs of Assam)

Mrs. Sarita Devi is an eight months pregnant woman residing in Kokrajhar District of Assam. Her husband, Mr. Rajib, works in an iron factory at Guwahati, and the family has had no contact with him for the past two months. Due to her pregnancy, Sarita had been staying at her parent’s house in Karigaon, a village in Kokrajhar District. On 9 August 2015, Sarita came to her in-laws’ place in Thaisoguri, another village in Kokrajhar district, to submit her National Register of Citizens (NRC) papers. On the same day, at around 8 p.m. (approximate time), 15 Indian army personnel and one policeman known as Lal Topi raided Sarita’s in-laws’ house in search of Rajib, who they suspect is a part of the NDFB Militiant group.

The Army personnel and policeman closely inspected all the three huts in the compound and left when they found nothing in the house. But, at around 1 a.m. on 10 August 2015, the soldiers came back to Sarita’s in-laws’ house without police accompaniment. At that time, Sarita, her brother-in-law Anil, his wife Seema, and another sister-in-law, were all asleep inside the hut. They asked the family to open the door in Hindi. The family members don’t understand Hindi at all and they were terrified. They did not open the door. The soldiers forced open the door and entered the hut after which they put off the lamp. Seema tried to switch on the torch but she was asked not to switch on the torch light. Then two army personnel held Sarita tightly and pulled her out of the house. Seema, her husband, and her sister-in-law shouted and switched on the torch, but they were pushed inside and the army personnel closed the door from the outside. The soldiers threatened the family that if they were to shout they would kill them. Two army personnel took Sarita to a lower primary school nearby, around 100 meter away from the house, and the rest of the army personnel remained in the compound. Although the personnel were had torches on, the family could not identify the number of men present as it was still too dark to see clearly.

Meanwhile, in the school, the two Army personnel told Sarita in Hindi that she was lying about her husband and that they would kill her. She told the men that she is innocent and there is no reason for them to kill her, after which the two of them raped her. After about half an hour Sarita returned to the house. She was crying and explained what had happened to Seema.

The former Gaon Burha (former village headman) was informed about the incident at around 2 a.m. The present Gaon Burha (present village headman) came to know in the morning at around 7 a.m. on 10 August 2015. The village people, local All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) members went to the Kachugaon Police Station to register a complaint. A case was, however, not filed immediately. The Officer-in-Charge of Kachugaon Police Station informed the Army Major first about the complaint. Army representatives then arrived at the Police Station in three vehicles; after that the case was registered at around 11.30 a.m. The police registered the case under Sections 376 (2) (e) / (g) of the Indian Penal Code, under case no 68/2015. Sarita was then taken to RNB Hospital in Kokrajhar for medical examination after the case was registered.

On 12 August 2015, the Army called a meeting in the camp. They invited the village people, Gaon Burha (local headman), local ABSU (All Bodo Students Union), and Youth Club members. In the meeting, Major Mehta said that his men did not commit the crime and if he came to know about the involvement of his men, he would himself take action against the culprit by suspending him, by beating him. Major Mehta also said that if the case registered turns out to be a false one then they would put the victim and all her family members in jail.

The Indian Army officers and soldiers of the 10 Bihar Regiment are refusing any involvement of any of the soldiers in relation to the alleged crime of rape. The Regiment has also filed a counter complaint in the Kachugaon Police Station on same day, registered under case number 69/15.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The Indian government has launched “Operation All Out” to be carried out by the Indian Army to flush out the NDFB militants who are accused of the massacre of thousands of tribals in Assam on December 2014. The Army personnel of 10 Bihar Regiment who have been patrolling different districts of Assam, especially Kokrajhar, have been harassing the public, especially young girls and women, who are now scared to get out of their house after dark.

The Army personnel have not complied with the laws regarding search and raids of private houses. Women police personnel should accompany them and these searches should only take place before sunset and after sunrise.

The crime committed by the two soldiers of 10 Bihar Regiment on Sarita is a matter pertaining to the civilian Courts and the accused Army personnel should be tried under civilian laws, but Major Mehta has stated that if his soldiers are found to be guilty then they will be suspended and beaten up. However, it is not for the Major Mehta to decide the course of punishment, neither suspension nor beating the two accused would equate to the crime alleged to be committed by them. Instead, Major Mehta should be assisting the police in the investigation to identify the two accused army personnel and not be speaking of taking the law into his own hands.

There is no access to the nearest health care centre for the villagers; the Army camp of 10 Bihar Regiment has been stationed at the Health Sub Centre situated in Moinaguri near the Village Market. For any health problem, the villagers go to Kachugaon, which is more than 10 km away from the Village and they have to spend a lot of money to travel there, or they have to go to Kokrajhar, which is even further away from the Village. There is no free ambulance that comes to the Village and they have to hire vehicles at heavy sums, with no certainty that such private vehicles will be available at a given point of time. 

Sarita had to go to RNB Hospital in Kokrajhar and was examined by a lady doctor who is actually an eye specialist. This eye specialist has also examined victims in other rape cases in Kokrajhar. Furthermore, Sarita is pregnant, but she was made to wait in the hospital for examination for a long time without any food. The medical report has not yet been produced; this is something that should have been given to Sarita at the earliest. It is shocking to know that the police are giving points to the doctor to ascertain rape, like any sign of recent sexual intercourse, injury marks in vital parts of the body, bite marks, etc. The police have made public that the doctor has not seen any such symptoms of rape. It must be mentioned here that such so-called signs of rape are not necessary to legally ascertain rape. According to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code,“A man is said to have committed rape against her will, without her consent” and the explanation pertains to “penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape”.

In today’s world of advanced science and technology, India still relies on primitive use of investigation of rape, such as two finger tests, when forensic pathology can be applied efficiently to ascertain rape. The two-finger test can be degrading to a person’s dignity, although it is banned yet many hospitals in India still carry out such examinations on a rape victim.

The statements from Sarita and her family members were taken twice. The first statement was recorded in Gosaigaon Police Station before Advocate, Sub Deputy Officer / Circle Officer of Gosaigaon, and the second statement was recorded in Kachugaon Police Station. The police visited Sarita’s in-laws’ house when she was not present, took photographs of the house and met 2-3 village people. After this the administration handed Rs. 25,000/- to Sarita as compensation. There has been no realization on the part of the administration that Sarita has been gang raped and may have been transmitted with diseases that could affect her and her baby. The administration has tried to wash its hands off by compensating Sarita with a small amount of money.

Due to protest and pressure from local organizations, the District Magistrate ordered a magisterial inquiry on 10 August 2015, but there have been no advancement in the investigations.

Major Mehta who was defending the army personnel of not committing the crime has been transferred to another area and the new team leader of the 10 Bihar Regiment is Captain Vijay Saha.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

The Asian Human Rights Commission makes the following recommendations to the Indian authorities, i.e. the state Government of Assam, the Union Government and the Indian army personnel of 10 Bihar Regiment:

The State Government of Assam; 
• To take prompt action in the case, and the investigation, ensuring the statements are recorded and monitored by a judicial officer.
• To provide proper medical care and counseling for the psychological trauma suffered by Sarita.
• To remove Army Camps from the medical sub-centres and provide free ambulances to cater to the need of villagers of Kokrajhar District. 
• To provide free legal assistance, at the expense of the state government of Assam
• To complete a prompt investigation, and subsequent timely prosecution of the suspects. 
• To ensure safety of women who are complainants and witness in this case. 

The Union Government;
• To pay interim compensation to Sarita
The Indian Army personnel of the 10 Bihar Regiment;
• To assist the police in identifying the two accused army personnel. 

The Asian Human Rights Commission will also write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against women. 

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