INDIA: Victim of rape and attempted murder held in jail for two years while the perpetrators remain at large 

INDIA: Gang rape; attempted murder; murder; Border Security Forces; police inaction; legal representation; failure of the courts; rule of law; women’s rights; child rights
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from our local partner organization Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (Masum) in West Bengal, India, regarding the gang rape of a woman, the attempted murder of her and one of her daughters, the murder of her husband and other daughter, the complete break-down of the rule of law and the callous and inhuman attitude of the Indian judicial system that has seen the victim and her surviving daughter placed in jail for the past two years.

Joyeeta Bala Das and her family were taken captive in January 2003 by Border Security Forces (BSF) near the India/Bangladesh border. After gang raping Joyeeta Bala Das, the BSF then forced her and her family onto a damaged boat, which upon sinking led to the death of Joyeeta Bala Das’s husband and eldest daughter. Joyeeta Bala Das and her youngest daughter survived and then attempted to seek justice for their perpetrators crimes. However, BSF authorities have continued to maintain that the actions of BSF personnel are an entirely internal matter and therefore they cannot be charged by the police or taken before a court of law. When Joyeeta Bala Das attempted to do so, it was she who was sent to jail, supposedly for ‘safe custody’, while the perpetrators were allowed to remain free.

Joyeeta Bala Das and her four-year-old daughter have now served two and a half years in the Presidency Jail in Kolkata and therefore it is only they who are being punished for the BSF personnel’s actions. That a victim of gang rape and attempted murder who has also lost her husband and daughter can be jailed while the perpetrators remain at large, is a situation that is entirely incomprehensible. That a four-year-old girl could also be imprisoned for this same amount of time, only adds to the tragedy of this case.

We call for your urgent intervention in this matter. Please write immediately to the Governor of West Bengal, Mr. Gopal Krishna Gandhi and other relevant authorities listed below demanding them to take genuine and direct steps to have Joyeeta Bala Das and her daughter removed from jail and their personal security ensured. A full and thorough investigation should be conducted into this matter and charges laid against persons found to have had involvement in the alleged crimes. If found guilty in court, such persons should be fully punished according to law. The investigation should also look into the claim that the Basirhat police never filed charges against the perpetrators, and as to why proper legal representation was never afforded to Joyeeta Bala Das.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victims:
1. Joyeeta Bala Das
2. Her husband (deceased)
3. Her eldest daughter (deceased)
4. Her four-year-old daughter (currently in jail with her mother)
All of Bena village, under the Basirhat police station, 24 Parganas (North) District, West Bengal, India
Name of the alleged perpetrators:
1. Puneet Kumar (Assistant Commandant)
2. Gaya Prasad (Head Constable)
3. G. Birbhan Singh (Head Constable)
4. Kana Singh (Head Constable)
5. Hanuman Thapa (Constable)
All of the Border Security Force at 122 Battalion Outpost under the jurisdiction of the Basirhat police station, 24 Parganas (North) District, West Bengal, India
Place of incident: 122 Battalion, Assistant Commandant’s room
Date of incident: January 2003

Case details:

In January 2003 (actual date not known), Joyeeta Bala Das was returning to her village from Bangladesh, along with her family members, when they were stopped by a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol at the border and taken to the office of the Assistant Battalion Commandant at 122 Battalion Outpost under the jurisdiction of the Basirhat police station, 24 Parganas (North) District, West Bengal. There, in the room of the said officer, Joyeeta Bala Das was allegedly gang raped by the above mentioned perpetrators, as her husband and daughters were forced to watch.

According to the law, Joyeeta Bala Das and her family should have been handed over by the BSF to the local police. The BSF however, did not do this. Instead, Joyeeta Bala Das and her family were held captive by the BSF for several days. They were not charged with any crime, nor were they able to submit their own complaint regarding the gang rape against Joyeeta Bala Das.

The BSF then forced the entire family onto a severely damaged boat and sent them off on the Ichamati river, back in the direction of Bangladesh. However, the boat had not gone far before it began to sink. As each family member had been tied to the boat, with the obvious intention of having them drown, as the boat began to sink the victim’s husband and one daughter could not free themselves and therefore drowned as the boat went down. Joyeeta Bala Das and another of her daughters however, were able to free themselves and swam to the bank of the river.

The following morning local villagers came across the bodies of Joyeeta Bala Das and her youngest daughter. Though they were still alive, both were unconscious. The villagers took the two to a local hospital for medical attention and Joyeeta Bala Das was further examined to medically confirm the rape.

The Basirhat police then apparently attempted to investigate the matter by confronting the five accused BSF personnel. However, the BSF authorities did not allow the police to do this, stating that it was not within their jurisdiction to do so. The matter, they said, would be dealt with by the BSF.

The Criminal Court then ordered the arrest of the accused BSF personnel. But the BSF personnel appealed this decision in the High Court of Calcutta and the appellate court passed an order of stay, which is still in effect today. Likewise, the appeal pending in the High Court has yet to be heard. As a result of this failure by the High Court to properly pursue the matter, the alleged perpetrators remain free and have yet to be formally charged.

Meanwhile Joyeeta Bala Das, immediately following this incident, filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the police. The matter went before the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate in Bashirhat where the case was to be heard. However, as the BSF maintain that they are their own authority to investigate such matters, the five accused did not appear before the court. Only Joyeeta Bala Das and her daughter showed, and then, in an absurd change of events, it was they who were sent to the Presidency Jail, supposedly for ‘safe custody’, not the perpetrators. Joyeeta Bala Das and her four-year-old daughter have now been imprisoned in the Presidency Jail since 14 January 2003. In the past two and a half years, she has appeared before the Basirhat Court only twice. Though aware that she and her daughter have been imprisoned unfairly, Joyeeta Bala Das is also too afraid to leave the prison for fear of what the perpetrators may do to them. For this reason, it would seem that Joyeeta Bala Das and her daughter may remain in the Presidency Jail indefinitely.

It has since been discovered that the Bashirhat police station made no charge sheet against the perpetrators. Masum also asked Mr. S.K. Das, the Duty Officer of the Presidency Jail if they could meet with him and the victim, but this request was rejected.

At no point throughout this ordeal was a lawyer assigned to Joyeeta Bala Das. However, the jail department apparently now intends to request the law department to assign a government lawyer to her. Mrs. Bharati Mutsuddi, a member of the West Bengal State Commission for Women has promised that she will look into the matter as it is a gross violation of human rights.

This incident highlights the complete failure of the rule of law in the state of West Bengal and the complete lack of competence and willingness to assist by those authorities invested with the power to protect and seek justice for Joyeeta Bala Das and her family.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write a letter to the Governor of West Bengal, Mr. Gopal Krishna Gandhi and other relevant authorities listed below voicing your strong condemnation at the many injustices in this case.

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To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER