INDIA: Harassment and assault of a couple by the local police in West Bengal

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, a human rights organisation based in West Bengal, regarding the case of a couple who was assaulted and abused at the police station. It is also alleged that a false case has been registered against the husband who in fact went to the police station to lodge a complaint.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Manoj Shaw and Ms. Arpita Shaw are husband and wife. They live in a house located at Khagendra Chatterjee road within the jurisdiction of Chitpore Police Station in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is alleged that there was an illegal construction going on in their neighborhood against which the Kolkata Municipal Authority had served a show cause notice to the building contractors.

On 31 May 2007 at about 10am a few persons namely Mr. Dilip Prasad, Mr. Jitendra Prasad, Mr. Dilip Sukia, Mr. Arjun and Mr. Mohammad Ejaj started abusing Manoj’s mother Ms. Josodha Shaw. These persons were in the building site against which the municipality has served the notice. The persons were abusing Josodha using filthy language. Manoj who witnessed this protested. When Manoj protested these persons attacked Manoj. Manoj fearing for his life rushed to the Chitpore Police Station along with his mother to lodge a complaint.

Mr. G. Mukherjee, the Sub Inspector of Police present at the station did not however wanted to listen to Manoj and Josodha and detained Manoj in the police lockup at the station. The officer also threatened Manoj using foul language. The officer assaulted Manoj and slapped him.

Manoj’s friend Mr. Satyanarayanan coming to know that Manoj was detailed at the police station informed Ms. Radha Joiswal, Manoj’s sister regarding Manoj’s detention. Arpita, Manoj’s wife was also informed. Hearing the news both of them rushed to the police station. However, the officers did not allow them to meet Manoj. Immediately Radha went to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) along with her mother to lodge a complaint with the superior officer.

In the meanwhile Manoj was taken out from the police lockup for medical examination. For this, the police demanded Manoj to pay 40 rupees [less than 1 USD]. Manoj informed his wife that the police are demanding money for taking him for a checkup. The police officers immediately became violent and assaulted Manoj in front of his wife. Arpita who witnessed Manoj being assaulted protested. The police officers did not spare Arpita also. They started abusing her using foul language and threatened her not to teach them the law.

A police officer who was not in uniform grabbed Arpita’s hand. The officer held Arpita’s hand with such force that her glass bangles broke and pieces of glass pierced her hand thereby injuring her wrist and forearm. The officer assaulted Arpita whereby she also suffered injuries on the left side of her face and on her neck. Later, Arpita was forced to leave the police station. All these incidents happened in front of the senior police officers present in the station and none of them intervened. It is also alleged that the Sub Inspector of Police Mr. G. Mukharjee had in fact asked the officers to assault Arpita.

Arpita who came out from the police station also tried to contact the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) over the telephone. However, the officer hung up the call without listening her. Arpita then went to the R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata for primary treatment. At the hospital, Arpita informed the doctor who attended her how she was injured. But the doctor refused to record that she was assaulted by the police officers and informed her that it cannot be done since the doctor did not want to invite any trouble.

The police officers in the meanwhile also arrested some labourers from the construction site. However, they did not take into custody the persons, who abused Josodha and assaulted Manoj. Along with them the police took Manoj to the Baranagar North Subarban Hospital for medical checkup and brought them back to the police station.

At about 4pm on the same day, Mr. Mohammad Akram, the Assistant Commissioner of Police came to Chitpore Police Station. Arpita also came to the police station at about 6pm. The officer listened to Arpita and assured her that Manoj would be soon released on bail. The officer also advised Arpita to contact a lawyer. In the meanwhile Radha, Manoj’s sister came to the police station with some food for her brother. The duty officer stationed at the police station refused her permission to pass the food to her brother. Mr. Akram, the Assistant Commissioner intervened and allowed her to give the food to her brother. By this time a lawyer engaged by the family came to the police station and Manoj was released on bail by about 9pm on the condition that he would appear in the court the next day.

It was later known that Manoj was implicated in an allegedly false charge under Sections 324 [voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons or means], 323 [voluntarily causing hurt], 341 [wrongful restraint] and 114 [punishment for an abettor of a crime when the crime is committed] of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The crime number of the case in which Manoj was implicated is 68/2007 of Chitpore Police Station. Manoj was later bailed out from the Sealdah Criminal Court on 1 June 2007.

On the same day, Arpita and Manoj went to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), Kolkata to lodge a complaint against the police officers. The Deputy Commissioner informed them that a police constable Mr. Satyanarayanan Banik attached to Chitpore Police Station was suspended in connection with the incident. However, neither of them was asked to identify the officers who abused and assaulted them at the station.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the relevant authorities mentioned below, to ensure that the entire incident is investigated and the perpetrators punished, if found guilty. The AHRC is also writing to a separate letter to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment calling for an intervention in this case.

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