INDIA: Perpetrators remain free as a result of inaction by the police and hospital authorities

INDIA: Assault; murder; inaction by police and hospital authorities; failure of justice; rule of law

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the death of an assault victim in West Bengal.  The man was brutally and fatally assaulted after his goat had entered the alleged perpetrators’ land and eaten some of their crops.  The victim was taken to the local Block Hospital and then to a private nursing home, before being transferred to the District Hospital, Berhampore where he later died.  We are distressed to find that, up until now, no action has been taken by the police to arrest and question the alleged perpetrators despite a First Information Report (FIR) having been lodged, and neither has a postmortem report been received by the deceased’s family.

Such inaction by the police and hospital authorities has thus far meant that justice has been denied to the victim and his family.  If this continues, the alleged perpetrators will go unpunished for their supposed crimes.  We therefore ask you to take action in this case and write to the relevant authorities demanding an independent investigation into the actions of the alleged perpetrators so that a trial can be started and the rule of law preserved.  Further, an investigation and disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of the police and hospital authorities must also be carried out.  Finally, while investigations are being conducted into the role of the police, hospital authorities and alleged perpetrators, full protection must be provided to the victim’s family.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

———————————————————————

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Sachin Sarkar, son of Mr. Pran Govinda Sarkar, husband of Puspa Sarkar, father of three children; resident of Udaynagar Colony village, West Bengal
Name of perpetrators:
1. Purna Sarkar, son of Paran Sarkar
2. Pabitra Sarkar, son of Paran Sarkar
(both of Udaynagar Colony village, West Bengal)
Police and medical staff involved in this case:
1. Subir Paul, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Jalangi Police Station
2. Sadikhandear, medical officer of the Block Hospital
3. Medical officer of Kundu Nursing Home
4. Autopsy Surgeon-in-Charge on duty on 22 September 2005 at the District Hospital, Behrampore District, Murshidabad, West Bengal
Place of incident: Nearby the perpetrators land
Date of incident: 1 September (the victim received medical treatment between 1 and 21 September 2005

Sachin Sarkar, an inhabitant of Udaynagar colony lived with his wife Puspa and their three young children and used to work on other inhabitant’s land for his livelihood. On 1 September 2005, Sachin’s goat trespassed onto the alleged perpetrators’ land and ate some of the crops. The perpetrators began to take the goat home with them but Sachin intercepted them and tried to prevent them from doing so. A fierce quarrel ensued and resulted in the perpetrators supposedly severely assaulting the victim.

The victim was immediately taken to the local Block Hospital at Shadikhandear for treatment but his condition was so critical that he was later admitted to the Kundu Nursing Home at Berahmpore by the doctors, where he was treated from September 1 to 12. But there was no sign of improvement in his condition, and so on September 13 he was transferred to the District Hospital, Berampore, where he died on September 21. The next day, a post mortem was conducted on the victim’s body. However, the subsequent post mortem report still has not been presented to the victim’s wife, Puspa, who is the primary complainant in this case.

It is the duty of the Medical Officer attached with all government hospitals to report, without delay, to the local police station whenever any injured persons are brought to the hospital. However, in this case, the police did not act upon the report but kept waiting for the victim’s wife to go to the police station herself and lodge a FIR, which she subsequently did on September 21 upon the death of her husband. It is mentioned on the copy of the FIR that ‘treatment’ was the reason for the delay in reporting. The negligence of the police is seen in their failure to respond to the reports of the medical officers in Sadikhandear (Block Hospital) and Berhampore (District) Hospital. The Jalangi and Beharampur police had a duty to go to the hospital and take a statement by the victim before he died, which they did not do.

On September 21, the Jalangi police lodged a FIR under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, without making any enquiries into the death or approaching the alleged perpetrators.

This negligence by the police has further traumatised the widow and the family of the deceased victim. It is unjust that she finds herself helpless, without any assistance from the police while the individuals who supposedly committed the crime have not been questioned or charged. The widow must now raise her three children by herself, which is made all the more difficult given that her husband was the sole income earner in the family.

———————————————————————

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter immediately to the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the persons below expressing your concern about the lack of action taken to pursue the death of Sachin Sarkar, urging them to take prompt action in investigating the conduct of the police and medical authorities and to ensure the persons who committed the crime are held responsible.