Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner, Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (Masum), of the death of Mousami Raha, who died due to burns to 90% of her body caused by her husband and his family. The victims father, Bimal Chandra Das, has requested the post-mortem report from the hospital and local police station, and written complaints to several bodies but the police have taken no action.
At the time of her death, Mrs. Raha had been married to Akash Raha for one year, after a love marriage in Kolkata. Mrs. Raha began to suffer from the cruelty of Mr. Raha and his family soon after marriage. Their cruelty intensified when Mrs. Rahas father refused to give his retirement benefits to Mr. Raha for the latters business. Mrs. Raha also informed a relative, Mr. Malancha Ghosh, that Mr. Raha had stolen Rs. 300,000 (USD 6,753) in jewellery during a visit by the couple to Mr. Ghoshs residence. This resulted in threats and beatings to Mrs. Raha by her husbands family.
On 13 December 2002, at 2:25a.m., Mr. Raha and his brother, Barun, went to Mr. Chandra Das house and informed him that Mrs. Rahas body had accidentally caught fire from a mosquito coil. Mr. Chandra rushed to Mr. Rahas house to find her lying on a bed with burns to 90% of her body. Noticeably, she had no burns to her hair or face, she had no clothes on her body and Mr. Raha was burnt on his left hand and on parts of the left side of his body. Mosquito coils are also known not to burn with a flame after their initial lighting.
Mrs. Raha was admitted to Balaram Seba Mandir Hospital, Kharda, at 11:30a.m. She was later transferred to R.G. Kar Hospital at Kolkata, where she died after five days in agony. She was only 27. Mrs. Raha was also seven months pregnant the child did not survive.
Mr. Chandra Das has requested the post-mortem report from the hospital and the Kharda Police but he has been refused this continuously to this date. Mr. Chandra Das has also written to the Governor and Chief Minister of West Bengal, as well as the West Bengal Human Rights Commission and Office of the West Bengal Commission for Women. All of these organisations have received his letters and assured him of a proper investigation, however no action has been taken and Mr. Chandra Das is yet to receive justice for the murder of his daughter. This can be attributed to the corruption within the Kharda Police Station, which has awarded favourable treatment to the Raha family due to existing friendships between the family and members of the local police.
Incidences of wife-burning for reasons relating to dowry or cruelty are very common, and often unreported in India, despite the prohibition of cruelty to women by husbands or husbands relatives under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The actions of Mr. Raha and his relatives, which led to the painful death of Mrs. Raha and her unborn child, is yet another case of such cruelty which has not been brought to justice.
MASUM has questioned Mr. S. Roy, the officer-in-charge at the Kharda Police Station, regarding the death of Mrs. Raha but no records were found at the police station relating to her death; the police station did not bother to lodge a case and no magisterial inquiry has been held. Under section 174 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of India, a police officer who receives information that a person has died under suspicious circumstances should notify the nearest Executive Magistrate to hold an inquest, investigate the death and prepare a report describing the injuries on the body and manner in which the injuries were inflicted. The police of Kharda Police Station have taken no action whatsoever to fulfill their obligations under the Indian statute.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities seeking for an immediate and effective investigation into the death of Mousumi Raha and her unborn child, and calling for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. The AHRC also calls for a strong stance to be taken by police in regards to the investigation, prosecution of cases involving the death of wives due to severe burns, and for the treatment of such cases by police to be monitored by independent bodies.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ______________,
INDIA: Failure to stop the murder of wife by abusive husband and in-laws
Names of victims:
1. Mousumi Raha, daughter of Bimal Chandra Das, aged 27 years, of 159 Natun Pally, Kharda District; Police Station - Kharda District, 24 Parganas (North), West Bengal, India.
2. The unborn child of Mousumi Raha, 7-month-old foetus.
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Akash Raha, alias Pawan, Husband
2. Gourhari Raha, Father-in-law
3. Other members of the Raha family
Date and time of incident: 13 December 2002, at around 2:25am
Place of incident: House of Akash Raha, Natun Pally; Police Station: Kharda District, 24 Parganas (North), West Bengal, India.
I am appalled to hear of the murders of Mousumi Raha and her unborn child in 2002 by burning and the complete lack of action taken by the police of Kharda Police Station to investigate their deaths.
Prior to her death Mrs. Raha had been repeatedly beaten and treated cruelly by her husband and his family. Mr. Raha had asked Mrs. Rahas father, Mr. Bimal Chandra Das, for money on previous occasions and had also stolen jewellery to the value of Rs.300,000 from one of her relatives, Mr. Malancha Ghosh. Mr. Chandra Das refusal to furnish Mr. Raha with any money had angered Mr. Raha and his family, causing violent reprisals being directed towards Mrs. Raha.
On 13 December 2002, at 11:30a.m, Mrs. Raha, was admitted to Balaram Seba Mandir Hospital, Kharda. She was later transferred to R.G. Kar Hospital at Kolkata, where she died after five days in agony. Mrs. Raha had suffered burns to 90% of her body due to the actions of Mr. Akash Raha, her husband of one year, and his family members. She was only 27. Mrs. Raha was also 7 months pregnant the child did not survive.
Mr. Chandra Das has requested the post-mortem report of Mrs. Raha, however the hospital authorities and Kharda Police Station have both denied his requests. Recent inquiries by a local organisation have found that the Kharda Police Station have in fact no records at all pertaining to the death of Mrs. Raha and her unborn child.
Under section 174 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of India, a police officer who receives information that a person has died under suspicious circumstances should notify the nearest Executive Magistrate, investigate the death and prepare a report describing the injuries on the body and manner in which the injuries were inflicted. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code also prohibits the cruel treatment of women by their husbands or husbands family. The police of Kharda Police Station have taken no action whatsoever to fulfill their obligations under the Indian statute.
I am deeply concerned by the lack of police action and have reason to believe that this is due to corruption and friendships between police officers and the Raha family.
In consideration of the above, I urge you to use your authority to ensure that a thorough and immediate investigation into the death of Mousumi Raha and her unborn child is performed, that the perpetrators are held accountable for their actions, and that there is no favourable treatment awarded by the police to any parties under investigation.
I also urge you to use your authority to promote a stronger approach by police in conducting immediate and independent investigations into all instances of female deaths caused by fire.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister and Minister in Charge of Home (Police) Department
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 2214 5555 (O) / 2280 0631 (R)
Fax: +91 33 2214 5480
Email: cm@wb.gov.in
2. Mr. Subhash Awasthi
Director General of Police
Government of West Bengal
Writers Buildings
Kolkata-1
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 2214 4498 / 2214 5486
Email: padgp@wbpolice.gov.in
3. Mr. P.R. Ray
Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings
Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 2214 5656
Fax: +91 33 2214 3001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in
4. Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen
Chairperson
West Bengal Human Rights Commission
Bhabani Bhavan, Alipore
Kolkata 700027
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 4797259 / 5558866
Fax: +91 33 4799633
Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
5. Shri Justice A. S. Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001
INDIA
Tel: +91 11 23074448
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
6. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against women
OHCHR UNOG
Palais Wilson,
8 14 Avenue de la paix,
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: 41 22 917 9022
Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
