INDIA: Attempted kidnapping of two girls likely to go unpunished in Varanasi

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Guria, a local human rights organisation based in Uttar Pradesh, India, regarding the attempted kidnapping of two girls in Varanasi. The person involved in the incident was promptly apprehended by the locals and handed over to the police. But the police registered a fabricated case against the accused and produced him in court. It is reported that the reason why the police has done so is to prevent the accused from disclosing the police criminal nexus in the court.

CASE DETAILS:

Brothers Sagir Ahmed and Shabbir Ahmed belong to the Muslim minority community of Bhojubir in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. On 27 March 2008, Janam, five-years-old daughter of Sagir Ahmed and Gulnaj, two-and-half-years old daughter of Shabbir Ahmed, were playing outside their house. While they were playing, Mr. Niyaj, a human trafficker, grabbed the girls and attempted to return them to his base. The children started shouting hoping to bring attention to their situation. Their cry for help was identified by the local residents who trapped Niyaj and rescued both the children.

The officers from Shivpur Police Station, on duty at the Bhojubir picket, reached the place of incident and brought Niyaj, both girls, and the local residents to Shivpur Police Station. The parents of the girls soon reached the police station after being informed of the incident.

During the police enquiry the trafficker revealed his identity to the police as Mr. Niyaj, son of Lallu, resident of Bajardiha, Bhelupur Police Station, Varanasi district. He admitted that he was attempting to kidnap both the girls, Janam and Gulnaj, with intensions of selling them somewhere else. He told the police that he had committed the same crime many times in the past. Stating that in the recent past he had kidnapped eight girls, one after another, and had held them as captives in his secret base. He further revealed that he was able to make considerable money by selling the children in major cities, such as Kolkata and Mumbai, and in the neighboring country Nepal. Niyaj told the police that he had also tried to kidnap these same two girls in the recent past with the aid of his friends but they were unsuccessful due to the presence of the local residents.

That same day, Sagir, father of Janam requested to the police that a case has to be registered against the accused. Sagir requested to the officers to lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against Niyaj. He pleaded with the police to lodge the FIR, allowing for a thorough investigation of the case against Niyaj.

Instead of registering a case, the police told him to keep calm and to not take any further action on the case as the culprit belonged to their own religion. The police additionally pressed Sagir not to take any action because it would not only result in bad name for him and his family, but above all to his community. When Sagir gave a written complaint against Niyaj, the police told him to come the next day as the culprit was already inside the lock-up.

News about this incident was reported in almost all the newspapers of Varanasi city on the next day. The newspapers reported that the trafficker, Niyaj, is held in police lock-up. Sagir went to the police station 28 and 29 to see to it that a complaint is registered. On each occasion he was sent home. On the 29 March he was told by the Station Officer of Shivpur Police Station that the accused was sent to judicial custody and is in District Jail Varanasi. Suspecting this to be false, Sagir went to the court to enquire about the status of Niyaj, who was reportedly sent to the jail.

From the court he learned that the police had produced Niyaj on charges of possessing illegal drugs and that there was no mention about the kidnapping incident in the police case submitted in the court. Along with this, Sagir also found out that the date of arrest of Niyaj was mentioned as 29 March 2008 in the police register even though the day he was trapped by the local residents while attempting the kidnapping was 27 March 2008. This surprised Sagir because when the newspapers reported the incident the day after Niyaj was arrested, the news was reported with the picture of Niyaj. Moreover Sagir had met Niyaj at the police station. Sagir also found out that the police case against Niyaj that of possessing 100mg of Diazepam powder. Diazepam is a drug that requires license or medical prescription to possess.

Later the same day, Sagir sent a registered letter to the Director General of Police (Uttar Pradesh), Inspector General of Police (Varanasi), District Magistrate (Varanasi) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (Varanasi), outlining the unsatisfactory and illegal action of the police to protect a human trafficker. He further wrote to inform that the police had formed a fake story in order to save the accused of a serious crime (Application No. 67/08 Police Station Shivpur, Varanasi) and requested to lodge an FIR against Niyaj. But to this date no further action has been taken.
 
The careless action of the police in this case to protect the human trafficker clearly depicts that the police were willing to take illegal steps to protect a criminal. Ultimately, it was the duty of the police to register a case against the human trafficker and take strict and needful actions on the same day of the incident, on March 27. In cases of human trafficking a slight delay allows for enough time for other human traffickers to transfer their victims to other locations. The police have gone against the perspectives of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 of India by not lodging the FIR.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

In the past the AHRC has reported cases where the local police have refused to register cases, even when the suspects were handed over to the police by citizens. It is also a common phenomenon in India for the local police to refuse to register cases when there is a specific report regarding a crime.

In Varanasi in particular, it is a common practice for the police to refuse to register cases against human traffickers since often these criminals work hand in glove with the police. In the past Guria and the AHRC has reported cases where the local police have refused to take timely action against human traffickers so as to save their contacts and ‘business associates in crime’ from being exposed and through them the police officials.

The Criminal Procedure Code 1973 mandates a police officer in charge of a police station to register complaints in the general diary when a crime is reported. If a complaint relates to an offense that requires to be investigated the police are required by law to register the complaint as an FIR, furnish a copy of the complaint to the informant and further to investigate the crime. In this case it is apparent that the police have refused to do so.

Kidnapping and abduction is a common crime in India, particularly in Northern states of India. In the recent past there were several cases reported from these states where children were kidnapped for petty sums of ransom. In some cases the ransom was as little as Rupees 100 (USD 3). While the state governments declare in public that they are determined to control police corruption and their ineptitude to control crime and investigate crimes, in practice such an action never takes place.

Varanasi is one of the hubs of human trafficking in Asia. Guria has been involved in intervening in these cases since its inception. For further details concerning these cases please see UA-190-2005, UP-131-2005, UP-035-2006, UP-036-2007, UA-191-2007 and AHRC-UAU-005-2008.

For further details regarding this case and also about the other cases reported by Guria please contact Ms. Manju / Mr. Ajeet Singh, S- 8/ 395, Khajuri Colony, Cantonment Police Station, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, India Tel: + 91 9919780636.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the authorities mentioned below expressing concern over the case and demanding an impartial investigation into this case without delay. Actions must be taken against those who commit crime against children.

The AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, its causes and consequences calling for an intervention in this case.

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