Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner organisation MASUM in West Bengal that a family of Bangladeshi origin were brutally assaulted and evicted from their land by a group of local thugs on 10 November 2006. The police took no action to arrest the alleged perpetrators when the family notified the police to the incident place. It is believed that the thugs are well connected with the local police. It has been also alleged that local authorities have neglected the family’s complaint over the incident with the police not providing any assistance. The family has been forced to live in squalor without shelter beside their land while the local thugs allegedly continue to threaten them.
CASE DETAILS:
Mr. Nitai Mondal moved to West Bengal, India from Bangladesh about 25 years ago and settled in Harigani Bagan village in 1990 with his wife and four sons. He purchased a plot of land located at 71 Mahimapur, dag no. 120 in Murshidabad district from Mr. Nisith Kumar Mondal and others in 1994. However, by mistake the dag number was wrongly mentioned as 106 instead of 120 in the possession certificate document. Since 1997, Nisith and others began to claim that plot at dag. no. 120 as their own and have been harassing Nitai’s family. The plot at dag. no. 106 has been swallowed up by the river.
Nitai then filed a civil law suit before the Civil Judge (Junior Division) at Lalbagh, Murshidabad over the said land against Nisith and others in March 2006 (no. 91/2006). Fearing that he would be illegally removed from his land Nitai appealed to the court for protection. The court then passed an interim order directing all parties to maintain the status quo regarding the possession and nature of the said land in favour of Nitai. Final decision has not been made by the court.
Meanwhile, at around 11:00am on 10 November 2006, roughly 10 members of a local gang including Binay Kumar Haldar arrived at Nitai’s home in Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal. The gang allegedly represented Nisith and others. The gang then brutally assaulted the entire family including Nitai’s wife, four sons, brother and sister-in-law. The alleged perpetrators then forcibly removed the family from their home for no given reason.
Soon after their forcible removal, Nitai reported the case to the Murshidabad police station by phone and asked for help. The police officer who received the call instructed him to lodge a written complaint to the police station in person. Nitai then went to the police station and lodged a written complaint, at which point the police registered the case in the general diary (number 15/6). After that, the police officers went to Nitai’s house and found the alleged perpetrators still at the scene. However, the police failed to question why the alleged perpetrators were in the home, did not conduct any proper investigation and then allegedly justified the gang’s violent actions, in violation of the court’s interim order.
Nitai has lodged complaints with the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate regarding this matter. He also submitted an application to the Block Land and Land Reform Office requesting a correction in government records relating to the said land, in accordance with Section 50 of the West Bengal Land Reform Act 1955. The said section states that the name of a new purchaser or of a person by way of inheritance or under any other transfer is to be recorded and if there is any dispute over the land, the land officer is to settle the matter by way of adjudication. Nitai applied under this section to record his name in the government records as the owner of the plot situated at dag no. 120. Regrettably, none of the officials have taken any proper action to date.
Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrators continue to harass the family, while they continue to live in squalor without shelter beside the said land and try to find security from the local gangsters. However, the police have not taken any action to provide protection to Nitai’s family and arrest those responsible. This is allegedly due to the gangsters’ connections with the police.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below and urge them to immediately intervene in this case. Please also urge them to provide shelter and necessary assistance for the victim’s family until their land is returned to them.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
INDIA: Bangladeshi family is brutally assaulted by local thugs, expelled from their land and neglected by police
Name of victim: Nitai Mondal and his wife, his four sons, His brother, Nimai Mondal and his wife
Address of victim: Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Binay Kumar Haldar, Ichhaganj village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
2. Bablu Haldar, Ichhaganj village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
3. Nisikanta Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
4. Kishori Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
5. Goapal Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
6. Ashoke Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
7. Locknath Das, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
8. Swapan Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
9. Purial Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
10. Bhadesh Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
11. Mr. Nisith Kumar Mondal, Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
12. Police officers In-Charge and others, Murshidabad Police Station, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
Date of the incident: 10 November 2006 to the present
I am writing to express my deepest concern about the situation of Nitai Mondal and his family members who have been removed from their house and land on 10 November 2006 in violation of court orders due to the inaction of police and other local authorities. Before being evicted, the family was allegedly assaulted and forced out of their house by local thugs in Hariganj Bagan village, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India.
To briefly explain the background of the incident, Mr. Nitai Mondal purchased a plot of land located at 71 Mahimapur, dag no. 120 in Murshidabad district from Mr. Nisith Kumar Mondal and others in 1994. However, by mistake the dag number was wrongly mentioned as 106 instead of 120 in the possession certificate document. Then Nisith and others began to claim the plot at dag. no. 120 as their own. Nitai then filed a civil law suit before the Civil Judge (Junior Division) at Lalbagh, Murshidabad over the said land against Nisith and others in March 2006 (no. 91/2006). The court then passed an interim order directing all parties to maintain the status quo regarding the possession and nature of the said land in favour of Nitai. Final decision has not been made by the court.
I was informed that at around 11:00am on 10 November 2006, the alleged perpetrators mentioned above (from 1 to 10) arrived at Nitai Mondal’s home in Hariganj Bagan village and brutally assaulted the family members and forcibly removed the family from their home for no given reason. They allegedly did all these things representing Nisith.
I have learned that the police deliberately delayed taking action in this matter. I was informed that when Nitai reported the case to the Murshidabad police station by phone, the police officer instructed him to lodge a written complaint to the police station in person. Nitai then rushed to the police station and lodged a written complaint at the police station (general diary number 15/6). However, the police officers did not arrest the alleged perpetrators, who were still at the scene, and simply allowed them to go when they arrived at Nitai’s house. This is a clear violation of the court’s interim orders. It is believed that the perpetrators have good connections with the police.
I was also informed that Nitai has lodged complaints with the Superintendent of Police, District Magistrate and District Land and Land Reform officers of Murshidabad. Regrettably, none of the officials have taken any proper action to date.
Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrators continue to intimidate the family to leave the place, while they live in squalor without shelter and try to find security from the local gangsters.
The negligence of the police officers and district authorities in this case shows that impunity and the lack of the rule of law in India continues to flourish. This hopeless attitude of the public authority in India must not be tolerated any longer and needs to be changed if further rights violations committed against civilians are to be curbed.
I would also like to emphasise that accessible legal justice is one of the most important elements in maintaining democracy within a country. If India claims to be the largest democracy in the world and justifies its presence at the UN Human Rights Council, the injustice committed towards the Nitai family should not be tolerated.
In light of the above, I ask for your immediate intervention in this case and hope that a proper investigation will be immediately conducted and proper action taken against the alleged perpetrators. I also urge you to take all necessary actions so that the victim’s land and property will be restored and sufficient compensation, including legal remedies, provided. Please also inquire about the police’s failure to intervene into the incident and arrest the alleged perpetrators and punish those responsible officers who violated the court order.
I look forward to your urgent intervention in this case.
Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister’s Office
Room number 152, South Block
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23016857
Email: pmosb@pmo.nic.in
2. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister/ Minister of Home Department
Government of West Bengal
Writer’s Building
Kolkata – 700 001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 2214 5480/ 2214 1341
3. Justice Mr. Y. K. Sabharwal
Chief Justice of India
Through the Office of the Registrar General
Supreme Court of India
1 Tilak Marg, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23383792
Email: supremecourt@nic.in
4. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
5. Chief Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata – 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22144328
6. Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata – 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22143001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in
7. Mr. Miloon Kothari
Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Attn: Ms. Cecilia Moller
Room 4-066/010
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211, Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9265
Fax: +41 22 917 9010 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ADEQUATE HOUSING)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
