Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the alleged gang-rape of a 14-year-old tribal girl by four security personnel in Narayanpatna, Koraput of Orissa state on 19 April 2011. The perpetrators broke open the door of the house where three children, including the victim, were sleeping at midnight. According to the testimonies of the children, the perpetrators looted their ornaments and asked for money. They raped the victim when she told them she did not have money. Furthermore, they threatened to kill her if she spoke out to anyone after having raped her in turns for about an hour. The girl was too scared to speak to anyone and to get medical treatment. Only several weeks later, the girl was encouraged by elders of the village who filed a complaint at Narayanpatna Police Station and the copies of the complaint were sent to the relevant government agencies. The villagers testified that they have been facing assault and plunder by the security forces for several years, which also happened in neighbouring villages. The Narayanpatna police visited the village on 13 May 2011, and allegedly abused and forced the villagers to put their thumb impressions on blank paper. On 15 May, the medical examination was conducted by Dr. V Sangita at Koraput District Headquarter Hospital.
CASE NARRATIVE (based on the testimonies of the victim children and the reports):
At 3am, 19 April 2011, four unidentified men including one wearing a military uniform broke open the gate to enter the house located in Taladekapadu village, Narayanpatna Panchayat, Narayanpatna block in Koraput district of Orissa. They lighted on 14 year-old girl Sirka (name withheld) by torch and her younger girl cousin sleeping in the room to wake them up and went to the next room where her boy cousin Ganganna Sirka (12 years old) was sleeping alone. All three are tribal children and no adult was at home at that time. The children were sleeping at their uncle’s home.
The rapists who are alleged to be security personnel began questioning two tribal girls in Hindi which is not the girls’ ethnic language. The girls identified them as security personnel since one of them wore a military uniform and all spoke Hindi. Immediately after recognizing them as security personnel and fearing them, the younger girl ran away to flee from the house whereas the other girl failed to escape. They tied the boy’s hands and mouth with clothes, and forced him to lie down on the floor blindfolding him. After plundering the girl of gold earrings and three nose rings, they also forced her to lie down then gagged and blindfolded her. They then demanded money. As she said she did not have money, they beat her with a stick and slapped her repeatedly.
One of them watched the broken entrance door, one held the boy in the other room while another held the girl’s legs so the fourth one could sexually assault her. All of them raped her in turns while taking turns to hold the boy and the assault lasted for about an hour. Before leaving the place, they threatened to kill her if she made a complaint to the police or shared anything about them with anyone.
After they left the boy managed to untie them and asked the victim what had happened to her. However, she could not tell him anything as she was too scared to speak out and even to get medical treatment. She did not file a complaint immediately after the incident since she was fearing for her life as the alleged perpetrators had threatened.
The boy went out to call her parents who were sleeping in a small temporary hut nearby an agricultural field where her parents farm. During the agricultural season, the tribes build huts near their fields and stay there to prevent the wild animals from eating up their crops. The victim could not step out of house for about three days due to excruciating pain although she did not have internal bleeding.
About two weeks after the incident, the victim girl was encouraged to speak of what happened to her by elderly of the village who suspected serious assault against the children. On 4 May, the elders of the village filed a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police (SP) by registered post while the girl’s brother also filed a similar case by post. Accordingly the police have registered two cases (First Information Report -FIR) no. 13/11 and 14/11) under sections 450, 451, 379, 323, 342 and 376 (g) and 34 of Indian penal Code (IPC) at Narayapatna Police Station and conduct investigation. The copies of the complaint were sent to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) South-West region Soumendra Priyadarshi, Home Secretary U N Behera and several human rights institutions such as Orissa human Rights Commission, Orissa State Women’s Commission and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
It is reported that on 14 May, local media reporters along with human rights defenders visited the victim, her family and other villagers to find out the details of the incident. The villagers alleged that on 11 and 13 May, Narayanpatna police had visited the village and allegedly abused and forced the villagers to put their thumb impressions on blank paper.
The Narayanpatna Inspector in Charge, contrary to the villagers’ testimonies, denied the police abuse as well as forcible thumb impressions upon the villagers, and also the allegation about police involvement insisting that there was no combing operation on the day of incident. He suspected that it could be committed by the unidentified youths in uniform clarifying that lately there have been a number of thefts in the area and the alleged perpetrators could be one of them. The Inspector in Charge stated that they had taken thumb impressions of the victim girl and her brother in their FIR receipt which the elderly and the victim girl’s brother registered on 4 May. It is also found that the Inspector in Charge asked the victim girl to put her signature on another register on 14 May when the victim girl and her parents had gone for a medical examination. The Inspector in Charge still stated that it was for FIR receipt.
On 15 May, Narayanpatna Police Station female constable Ms. Samita brought the victim girl, her parents and a few villagers to Koraput District Headquater Hospital where the victim girl’s medical examination was conducted by Dr. V Sangita.
The NCPCR directed the District Human Rights Protection Cell under the office of Koraput SP to ensure proper counseling for the victim girl, for which the Koraput SP informed the lawyer Ms. Sujata Nayak in the letter (no. 499 dated May 14) that she has been appointed as a counselor for the victim girl and all expenses would be covered by the office of Koraput Collector.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
According to the testimonies by the villagers, it is the third time that the village faced a brutal assault by the security personnel. On 11 February 2011, at about 1 am the security personnel had attacked Mr. Kiya whose hut was nearby his farm and stolen 15 chickens and INR 2500 (USD 55). They also had stolen 10 chickens and INR 5000 (USD 110) from Mr. Benu Sirika’s hut. They beat women who tried to stop the security personnel from beating men. The security personnel took both of them to Narayanpatna Police Station and detained them in police custody by next morning. Next morning at 10 am, Mr. Kiya was sent back home whereas Mr. Benu was sent to Koraput district and is currently in district jail.
In February 2011, the security personnel had come to the village and beaten a family and stolen their gold ornaments. It is alleged that the violence committed by the security personnel has been taking place in other neighboring villages such as Dumsil, Basnaput, Palaput, Podapadr, etc. As the villagers protest against the violence, the security forces have stopped committing violence against the villagers whereas the violence still takes place in other villages such as Taladekapadu village in this case.
Narayanpatna became a battle field when the police fired against the villagers who expressed their grievances against the police officers carrying out anti-insurgent operations in the tribal villages in November 2009. The AHRC reported the case in AHRC-UAC-162-2009 and the Amnesty International also published the statement.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please express your deep concern about a minor tribal girl gang raped by alleged security personnel by writing a petition letter to the concerned government agencies to seek justice and to stop the violence in Narayanpatna.
The AHRC also writes a letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, on the rights of children and on the rights of indigenous people.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
INDIA: Call for immediate investigation and arrest the alleged four security force who raped a minor tribal girl entertaining violence against tribes
Name of victims:
1. 14 year-old tribal girl, gangraped by four alledged security force
2. Ganganna Sirka, 12 years old, physically abused by four alleged security force
Names of alleged perpetrators: Four alleged unidentified security force
Date of incident: 19 April 2011
Place of incident: Taladekapadu village, Narayanpatna Panchayat, Narayanpatna block in Koraput district of Orissa
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding a 14 year-old tribal girl who was allegedly raped by four security personnel and a 12 year-old tribal boy who was assaulted by them on April 19, 2011.
According to the testimonies of the victim children, at 3am, 19 April 2011, four unidentified men including one wearing a military uniform broke open the gate to enter the house located in Taladekapadu village, Narayanpatna Panchayat, Narayanpatna block in Koraput district of Orissa. They lighted on 14 year-old girl Sirka (name withheld) by torch and her younger girl cousin sleeping in the room to wake them up and went to the next room where her boy cousin Ganganna Sirka (12 years old) was sleeping alone. All three are tribal children and no adult was at home at that time. The children were sleeping at their uncle’s home.
The rapists who are alleged to be security personnel began questioning two tribal girls in Hindi which is not the girls’ ethnic language. The girls identified them as security personnel since one of them wore a military uniform and all spoke Hindi. Immediately after recognizing them as security personnel and fearing them, the younger girl ran away to flee from the house whereas the other girl failed to escape. They tied the boy’s hands and mouth with clothes, and forced him to lie down on the floor blindfolding him. After plundering the girl of gold earings and three nose rings, they also forced her to lie down then gagged and blindfolded. They then demanded money. As she said she did not have money, they beat her with a stick and slapped her repeatedly.
One of them watched the broken entrance door, one held Ganganna in other room, one pulled girl Sirka’s legs down and the fourth one started sexually assaulting her. All of them raped her in turns while taking turns to hold Ganganna, which lasted for about an hour. Before leaving the place, they threatened to kill her or with dire consequence if she made a complaint to the police or shared anything about them with anyone.
After they left the boy managed to untie them and asked the victim what had happened to her. However, she could not tell him anything as she was too scared to speak out and even to get medical treatment. She did not file a complaint immediately after the incident since she was fearing for her life as the alleged perpetrators had threatened.
The boy went out to call her parents who were sleeping in a small temporary hut nearby an agricultural field where her parents farm. During the agricultural season, the tribes build huts near their fields and stay there to prevent the wild animals from eating up their crops. The victim could not step out of house for about three days due to excruciating pain although she did not have internal bleeding.
I am informed that about two weeks later, the victim girl was encouraged to speak of what happened to her by elderly of the village who suspected serious assault against the children. On 4 May, the elders of the village filed a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police (SP) by registered post while the girl Sirka’s brother also filed a similar case by post. Accordingly the police have registered two cases (First Information Report -FIR) no. 13/11 and 14/11) under sections 450, 451, 379, 323, 342 and 376 (g) and 34 of Indian penal Code (IPC) at Narayapatna Police Station and conduct investigation. The copies of the complaint were sent to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) South-West region Soumendra Priyadarshi, Home Secretary U N Behera and several human rights institutions such as Orissa human Rights Commission, Orissa State Women’s Commission and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
It is reported that on 14 May, local media reporters along with human rights defenders visited the victim, her family and other villagers to find out the details of the incident. The villagers alleged that on May 11 and 13, Narayanpatna police had visited the village and allegedly abused and forced the villagers to put their thumb impressions on blank paper. It is again found that the Inspector in Charge asked the victim girl to put her signature on another register on 14 May when the victim girl and her parents had gone for medical examination.
I have learned that contrary to the testimonies of the victim children and the villagers, the Narayanpatna Inspector in Charge insisted that the signature from the victim girl was for the FIR receipt despite the fact that the victims filed a case on 4 May. He also denied the allegation about police involvement suggesting that there was no combing operation on the day of incident. He rather suspected that it could be committed by unidentified youths wearing uniforms, clarifying that lately there have been a number of thefts in the area and the alleged perpetrators could be one of them.
However, according to the villagers, it is the third time that the village faced brutal assault and theft by the security personnel. I am informed that on 11 February 2011, about 1 am the security personnel had attacked Mr. Kiya whose hut was nearby his farm and stolen 15 chickens and INR 2500 (USD 55). They also had stolen 10 chickens and INR 5000 (USD 110) from Mr. Benu Sirika’s hut. They even beat women who tried to stop the security personnel from beating men. The security personnel took both of them to Narayanpatna Police Station and detained them in police custody at night. Next morning at 10 am, Mr. Kiya was sent back home whereas Mr. Benu was sent to Koraput district and is currently in district jail.
In February 2011, the security personnel had come to the village and beaten a family and stolen their gold ornaments. It is alleged that the violence committed by the security personnel have been taking place in other neighboring villages such as Dumsil, Basnaput, Palaput, Podapadr, etc. As the villagers protest against the violence, the security forces have stopped committing violence against the villagers whereas the violence still takes place in other villages such as Taladekapadu village in this case.
Accordingly, I am of the opinion that the security personnel and the police have been committing such violence and theft against the villagers, creating the culture of violence and impunity in Narayanpatna. I am aware that Narayanpatna became a battle field when the police fired against the villagers who expressed their grievances against the police officers carrying out anti-insurgent operations in the tribal villages in November 2009. At that time, international human rights organizations expressed their deep concern about police violence and murder against the villagers. It seems that the security forces and the police attached to the area.
I am further informed that on 15 May Narayanpatna Police Station female constable Ms. Samita brought the victim girl, her parents and a few villagers to Koraput District Headquater Hospital where the victim girl’s medical examination was conducted by Dr. V Sangita.
The NCPCR also directed the District Human Rights Protection Cell under the office of Koraput SP to ensure proper counseling for the victim girl, for which the Koraput SP informed the lawyer Ms. Sujata Nayak in the letter (no. 499 dated May 14) that she has been appointed as a counselor for the victim girl and all expenses would be covered by the office of Koraput Collector.
I am of the opinion that the human rights institutions are currently conducting their mandate to support the victim girl whereas the police try to cover up the case instead of conducting a thorough investigation to arrest the perpetrators immediately. I request that the human rights institutions monitoring the investigation process as it is highly possible that the alleged perpetrators are the security force.
I therefore urge you to intervene into the case to ensure the rights of the victim and to stop the security force or police entertaining violence and impunity. An immediate impartial investigation must be launched in that case, followed by subsequent prosecutions against the perpetrators. The victim must be provided adequate compensation, medical treatment and protection during the length of the investigation.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. P Chidambaram
Union Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block
New Delhi 110 001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23094221
Email: hm@nic.in
2. Justice S.H. Kapadia
Chief Justice of India
Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 011
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23381508
3. Krishna Tirath
Minister of Women and Child Development
Government of India
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2331 4788
E-mail: krishnatirath@yahoo.in
4. Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 2338 4863
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
5. Mrs. Shantha Sinha
Chairperson
National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
5th Floor, Chnadralok Building, Janpath,
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23731584
E-mail: ncpcr.india@gmail.com / shantha.sinha@nic.in
6. Dr. Rameshwar Oraon
Chairperson
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
6th Floor, ‘B’ Wing, Loknayak Bhawan, Khan Market,
New Delhi -110003
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2462 4628
7. Mr. Kanti Lal Bhuria
Union Minister of Tribal Affair
Sansad bhwan,
Room number 105-A, New Delhi,
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2307 0577
8. Mr. Naveen Patnaik
Chief Minister
Through the office of the Principal Secretary
Home Department, Government of Orissa
Bhubaneswar, Orissa
INDIA
Fax: +91 674 25351006
Email: homesec@ori.nic.in
9. Director General of Police
Government of Orissa
Bhubaneswar, Orissa
INDIA
Fax: +91 671 2304033
10. Rajesh Prabhakar Patil
District Collector
Koraput PO
Koraput, Orissa
764020
INDIA
Fax: +91 6852 250466
Email: dm-koraput@nic.in
11. Dr. Deepak Kumar
Superintendent of Police, Koraput
Orissa
INDIA
Fax: +91 6852 250902
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
