INDIA: Police remain inactive in the case of abduction of a minor in West Bengal

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Indian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Indian authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner in West Bengal, MASUM, regarding an the missing of a 15-year-old girl in which the Bally police has yet remained inactive to investigate the case and arrest the alleged abductor, despite the girl’s father’s complaint. It is alleged that the police is even pressuring the girl’s father to agree to his daughter’s marriage with the perpetrator.

CASE DETAILS:

A 15-year-old girl named Daisy Haldar alias Tina, a daughter of Mr. Dipankar Haldar, has gone missing since 6 December 2006, after she left for her maternal uncle’s house at Nischinda, which is located at 10 minutes distance from her house. Her house is located in Bally, Makaltala, Durgapur post office, Bally police station, Howrah district, West Bengal, India. The girl’s father alleges that Daisy’s private tutor named Mr. Sujit Roy is responsible for his daughter’s missing.

According to the girl’s father, Mr. Sujit Roy along with his wife Mrs. Sunita was living as a tenant for over 10 years at the house of Mr. Sacchidanandra Pakre in Makaltala. However, it was found later that Mrs. Sunita is not Mr. Sujit Roy’s legal wife and she left the house some time back prior to the incident. Strangely Mr. Sujit Roy left the rented house without informing his landlord on 5 December 2006, one day before the girl went missing.

After the missing of Daisy, her father went to the Bally police station to lodge his complaint on December 6 but the police refused to register the case. When the father again went to the police station on the next day on December 7, the police simply made an entry of the case in their General Diary (GD) but did not initiate any attempt to look for the girl.

Meanwhile on December 9, Daisy reportedly called to her father and told him that she is with Mr. Sujit Roy.

It should be noted that taking a minor girl below 18 years of age without permission of child’s parents is illegal under 361 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, regardless the voluntary consent of the minor. The marriage with a minor under age of 18 years is also illegal under section 5 of Hindu Marriage act, 1955. Therefore, Mr. Sujit Roy is responsible for Daisy’s missing. In fact, this is the police duty to investigate actual circumstances of the incident and locate the girl whenever they receive a complaint from citizens.
 
However, the Bally police registered the First Information Report (FRI) regarding the abduction of Daisy under section 363 and 366 of Indian Penal Code against Mr. Sujit Roy and others 15 days after the incident on December 21. Section 363 is about “punishment for kidnapping” and section 366 is about “Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc”. But instead of locate the girl and arrest Mr. Sujit Roy, the Bally police is not only remained inactive to investigate the case but also allegedly pressurizing the girl’s father to compromise with the alleged abductor.

It is alleged that Mr. Barun Roy, the father of Mr. Sujit Roy, is a retired military official and influential man in the area and the Bally police is working side of him. Mr. Subol, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Bally police station, is allegedly pressuring the girl’s father to get his minor daughter to be married with Mr. Sujit Roy. This attempt frustrated the father who subsequently lost his faith into the investigation of the Bally police into the case.

On December 21, the girl’s father also complained to Mr. Tathagata Pandey SOG of the Crime Investigation Department (CID)-Kolkata about the incident and requested him to take measure for the safe return of his daughter. However, no serious action has yet been taken to arrest Mr. Sujit Roy. It is alleged that the Bally police have not arrested Mr. Sujit Roy, although they know his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the girl’s father is gravely concerned that Daisy could be a victim of trafficking.

The AHRC is deeply concerned by the police’s deliberate inaction into this alleged abduction case. The complete failure of police duty to investigate the complaints and collaboration with the alleged suspect are actually encouraging the impunity among the criminals.

Article 19 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1990, to which India is a signatory, makes it obligatory for states to protect the child from all forms of mental or physical violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation, including sexual exploitation while in the care of parent, legal guardian or any other person who has the care of the child.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

In India police enjoy impunity in so many ways. But the most common and tantalizing is that that police make undue delay into the investigation of the case and this happens due to nexus between police and perpetrator. It is expected that police should file the charge sheet in the court as soon as possible, if case is not so complicated. But often it is found that police do not submit the charge sheet even after 3 months which is maximum time limit to file the charge sheet in the court.

Delay into the investigation of the case causes great insecurity among the victims and it makes weak the very foundation of criminal justice system by provoking the victim to take other course to meet out their problems and thus it encourages violence and corruption in the society.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities’ listed below calling for an immediate investigation into the alleged case of abduction and police inaction in West Bengal. We also request you to express your concern to ensure the safe return of the victim to her family.

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