Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner organization MASUM in West Bengal regarding an alleged brutal attack on a couple by persons who are reportedly cadres of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in West Bengal on 12 October 2006. We were informed that despite the court orders in favour of them, the couple has been suffering from deliberate and continuous inaction of the police and other government authorities for over 10 years regarding the trespass of their land by the said perpetrators. As a result, the perpetrators are still at large and freely intimidate the victims. The couple is suffering from mental trauma due to the long delayed justice.
CASE DETAILS:
In 1994, several persons including Robin Mondal, Raju Kayal, Jadu Naskar, Sanjay Kayal and Dipali Dey illegally constructed a drain on Jibanratan Sarkar’s land in Howrah district, West Bengal, India. Jibanratan then filed a civil suit case before the Howrah Civil Court regarding this matter and the Civil Judge (Junior Division) 6th Court made a judgment in Jibanratan’s favor. At the same time the Howrah Municipal Corporation conducted an inquiry about this matter and the Mayor of the Corporation accepted that the said land is not Howrah district property but in fact belongs to Jibanratan.
Jibanratan then submitted a copy of the judgment to the Officer-In-Charge (OC) of the Dashnagar Investigation Center (I.C.) and asked him to take action to correct his matter. However, the OC has allegedly failed to do so. Meanwhile, despite the judgment acknowledging Jibanratan’s ownership over the land, the alleged perpetrators mentioned above broadened the drain in the pretext of clearing the blockage. Jibanratan subsequently filed a writ petition in the High Court.
Ten years later on 17 June 2004 after the actual matter took place in 1994, Justice P. K Chattopadhaya of the Kolkata High Court passed an interim order observing the possession of the said land in favour of Jibanratan. Jibanratan then submitted the copy of the judgment to the Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Howrah district and the OC of the Dashnagar I.C.
A further two years later, on 12 October 2006, the OC of the Dashnagar I.C. finally summoned Robin Mondal, Raju Kayal, Jadu Naskar, Sanjay Kayal, Dipali Dey and others trespassed on Jibanratan’s property to the investigating center. However, Jibanratan was not informed about the deliberation that took place between them.
On their return from the Dashnagar I.C., the said perpetrators came to Jibanratan’s house, destroyed his property and brutally assaulted him and his wife Sandhya Sarkar with rods and iron sticks. They also snatched his mobile phone, his room key and his wife’s earrings, bracelet and necklace. Due to brutal assault, Jibanratan and his wife were seriously injured and fell unconscious.
After some time, the police officer of Dashnagar I.C. arrived in the scene and took the couple to the Howrah Hospital where they were admitted and filed a case against the alleged perpetrators (Case number: 170/06 dated 12/10/2006). The case was filed under section 448 (punishment for house-trespass), 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 379 (punishment for theft), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The couple’s son Abhijit Sarkar, who works at Purulia as a government official heard about the incident and rushed to Howrah. However, he was prevented from entering his parent’s house by the said perpetrators. They even threatened him to leave the place at once. Abhijit reported this incident to the Jagacha police but no action was taken by the police.
After a long period of medical treatment at the hospital, Jibanratan and his wife were discharged on 25 October 2006. Abhijit lodged a written complaint at the Dashnagar I.C. and brought his parents to their house. However, to date, they have not received any response from these officials.
It was alleged that the alleged perpetrators are cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the ruling party of the West Bengal state government. Due to their good connections with the ruling party, all the relevant police and the administration authorities have ignored the high court judgment that proved Jibanratan’s lawful ownership over the land and have failed to take action in this case. Moreover, a delay of over 10-years in the victim’s case has resulted in a denial of justice to them. As a result, the said perpetrators are still at large.
Jibanratan, who is now 55 years old, is suffering from mental trauma and agony and sometimes talks incoherently due to suffering this stress for such a long period.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
In fact, this is yet another incident in which the police and other government authorities have failed to take action due to the alleged perpetrators’ political influence or good connections with the police. For example, the AHRC has recently reported one alleged dowry death case in West Bengal, where the police have refused to take action despite the court order to inquire the incident because the alleged perpetrator and his family are cadres of the CPI-M (See further: UA-007-2006). Please also refer to the cases of police inaction in West Bengal due to alleged good connection between the culprits and the police that we have reported for the last two months: UA-011-2007, UA-383-2006, UA-370-2006and UA-356-2006.
Such apparent attitude of inaction and negligence of the government authorities in violation of court orders directly aids the criminals to escape punishment and encourages them to commit more illegal activities. This is clear violation of the mandate of the authorities to protect the rights of the citizens. To learn more details about the court delays and the problems of the policing in India, please also refer to the AHRC’s 2006 country human rights report on India at http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2006/India2006.pdf.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant authorities listed below and demand their urgent intervention into this matter. Please urge them to ensure that a proper and immediate inquiry is conducted into the alleged brutal attack on the couple and the trespass of their land and that the alleged perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the court judgment. Please also request them to conduct a prompt inquiry into the alleged inaction of the Jagacha police and the Dashnagar I.C. and take action against those responsible.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
INDIA: An alleged brutal attack on a couple, while suffering from police inaction for 10 years in violation of court orders
Name of victim:
1. Mr. Jibanratan Sarkar, aged 55, the resident of Baltikuri Khaldharpara, Dashnagar, Howrah district, West Bengal, India
2. Ms. Sandhya Sarkar, the victim 1’s wife
3. Mr. Abhijit Sarkar, the victim 1’s son
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Robin Mondal
2. Mr. Raju Kayal
3. Mr. Jadu Naskar
4. Mr. Sanjay Kayal
5. Mr. Dipali Dey
(All the men listed above are cadres of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the area)
6. Officers attached to the Jagacha police station
7. Officers attached to the Dashnagar Investigation Center including the Officer-In-Charge
Date of the alleged brutal attack: 12 October 2006
Place of the alleged attack: the victim’s residence in Baltikuri Khaldharpara
Case status:
I am writing to bring your urgent attention to the alleged brutal attack on Mr. Jibanratan Sarkar and his wife Ms. Sandhya Sarkar by a group of men mentioned above (alleged perpetrators 1 to 5), who are reportedly cadres of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the area, on 12 October 2006. Due to brutal assault, the couple was seriously injured and fell unconscious at the spot. They were admitted at the Howrah Hospital where they remained until 25 October 2006.
In fact, this incident is related to a 10 year dispute over MR. Jibanratan’s land and deliberate and continuous inaction of the local police and authorities regarding this matter.
To briefly explain the matter, on the incident date, the alleged perpetrators were actually returning from the Dashnagar Investigation Center, after being summoned regarding a trespass on Mr. Jibanratan’s property since 1994.
In 1994, the said perpetrators illegally constructed a drain on Jibanratan Sarkar’s land in Howrah district, West Bengal, India. The Howrah Civil Court then gave a judgment on Jibanratan’s favor on his civil suit case regarding this matter. However, the Officer-In-Charge (OC) of the Dashnagar I.C. has failed to take action against the said perpetrators. About 10 years later on 17 June 2004 after the actual matter took place, Justice P. K Chattopadhaya of the Kolkata High Court passed an interim order in favour of Mr. Jibanratan on his write petition. Howver, the Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Howrah district and the OC of the Dashnagar I.C have still failed to take action against the said perpetrators., the OC of the Dashnagar I.C. finally summoned the alleged perpetrators about two years later on 12 October 2006 when the attack on a couple took place after the summon.
I was informed that the couple’s son Abhijit Sarkar rushed to Howrah after learning his parent’s incident but prevented from entering his parent’s house by the said perpetrators.
I was also informed that Jagacha police did not take any action despite the son’s complaint to the police.
Even though a case has been filed against the perpetrators regarding the attack, the police have yet taken any serious action to arrest those responsible. The case number is 170/06 dated 12/10/2006 and registered under section 448 (punishment for house-trespass), 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 379 (punishment for theft), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
I am of the opinion that such a brutal attack on the couple could not have taken place without the deliberate and continuous failure of the police and administration authorities to take action regarding the alleged trespass of the victims’ land over 10 years, in violation of court judgments. It was alleged that all the relevant police and the administration authorities have ignored the high court judgments and are inactive in this case because the perpetrators are cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the ruling party of the West Bengal state government.
Furthermore, the delay of over 10-years in the victim’s case also contributed the denial of justice to the victim. As a result, the said perpetrators are still at large and freely intimidate the victims, while Mr. Jibanratan is suffering from mental trauma and agony due to long delayed justice to him.
In fact, this is yet another incident that the police and other government authorities have failed to take action due to the alleged perpetrators’ political influence or good connection with the police. Such apparent attitude of inaction and negligence of the government authorities in violation of court orders directly help the criminals to escape from punishment, put the security of the victims in danger and encourage them to commit more illegal activities in the society. This is clear violation of their mandate to protect rights of citizens. This case also illustrates how badly the independence and the law enforcement of the investigation authorities are damaged in the country.
In light of the above, I strongly urge you to ensure that the police and investigation authority take immediate action against the alleged perpetrators in conformity with the judgment to protect the victim’s property. Please also take action to immediately arrest and prosecute the alleged perpetrators regarding the alleged brutal attack on the victims, without any political or external interference. The court judgments should be respected by the police and other relevant authorities regarding this matter. I also urge you to ensure that the victims are adequately compensated in accordance with international standards and provided effective protection. I further request you to order a prompt inquiry into the deliberate and long-standing inaction by the Dashnagar Investigation Center and the local police regarding this matter and take strong action against those responsible. Lastly, I urge the Government of India to take steps to reduce court delays so that innocent citizens can receive effective remedies in time.
I believe that the democracy and rights of citizens can be sustained only by the strict enforcement of the law on the ground. I trust that you immediately take a prompt action in this case.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
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. 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
3. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
4. 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
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)
