INDIA: Seven families illegally evicted from their rented houses

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partners in Uttar Pradesh – The Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties [Uttar Pradesh Chapter] and Guria Sansthan – regarding the forceful and illegal eviction of poor and helpless families in Mau city of Uttar Pradesh. It is alleged that the families were attacked, assaulted, looted, their houses demolished and evicted. The residents were occupying these houses for more than three decades. It is also alleged that this illegal and criminal act was carried out by landlord and local mafias with the active participation and protection of local police. Further it is alleged that despite several complaints with different authorities including the Chief Minister of the state, no action has yet been initiated against the perpetrators. Meanwhile, it is reported that the victims are being threatened and implicated in false criminal cases to keep them silent.

CASE DETAILS:

Sahadatpura (Kharahara) area under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station in Mau district is known as the Red Light Area in the district. The victim families, mostly women and children, had been living on rent for last 10 to 40 years in these houses and make a living by public or private performances of singing and dancing. Recently the police and the local administration have joined hands with the landlords, land grabbers and their mafias to evict these women and their children from their houses.

According to the information received, on 25 April, 8 May and 18 May 2007, policemen from the Kotwali police station along with the local criminals and land lords entered into select houses of Sahadatpura area and attacked the residents with sticks and other dangerous weapons. When the attack was launched the victims were busy in their houses with household chores. The perpetrators had the support of the Mr. Alok Kumar Gupta, the owner of the Krishna lodge, a local lodging house. The women and children were forcefully dragged out of their houses, their utensils and belongings were looted and thrown out on the roads and their houses were locked in the presence of the police. Apart from this, some houses were partially demolished. These acts continued for a few days. Since then these women are forced to live under the open sky with their children.

Human rights activists associated with the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties [PUCL] and Guria visited the area and conducted an inquiry into the incident. The inquiry revealed that the perpetrators not only evicted the residents but also robbed them and threatened them not to return. As a result the evicted children and women from the evicted families have become shelter less and have been forced to live under the open sky in the extremely hot whether. It is also reported that almost 150 people have illegally thrown out of their rented houses within a short span.

It is reported that when the inquiry team met the Superintendent of Police, Mau district, the officer said that he was unaware of the incidents. Contrary to this, it is alleged by the victims that they had submitted written complaints at the Kotwali Police Station and to the Superintendent of Police. However no cases were registered against the perpetrators. An application was filed at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Mau.  But the Court also failed to order the police to investigate the case. The victims also wrote to the offices of the President of India, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and the Chief Minister of the state. They also staged a protest demonstration on 14 May in front of the Azamgarh Commissioner’s office to attract public attention and to seek the justice. However, none of these calls were answered by the authorities.

It is alleged that the police to justify their illegal act has registered two cases against the evicted women alleging that they were running brothels in their houses. The cases are registered as crime number 446/06 and crime number 447/06 of the Kotwali Police Station.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

It is another example of collapse of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. It seems as if ‘Might is right’ is the supreme law in the state. It is unfortunate that police which is one state organ that is responsible in maintaining rule of law is actively cooperating with the rich and the affluent persons in breaking the law.

Even though evictions of similar nature were being carried out in the district throughout during the past one year the Senior Superintendent of Police of the district pleads ignorance about the incident. This leads to the suspicion that the bureaucracy is playing into the hands of the rich in the state.

There are domestic laws in place that need to be adhered to for evicting rented premises. These are the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent & Eviction) Act, 1972. These laws require various procedures to be followed before a person is evicted from a rented premise. The eviction can be only ordered after offering the tenant and the landlord an opportunity to advance their case before an arbitrator. None of these procedures were resorted to regarding the eviction in this case. The police and criminals were used as a shortcut route to evict tenants who were occupying houses for decades. This case also demonstrates how the police team-up with criminals to engage in illegal activities.

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