UPDATE (India): False charge filed against Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi and colleagues

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to provide you the update regarding the case of Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi and the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). The AHRC has reported on 4 December regarding the death threats faced by the PVCHR activists and Dr. Lenin. The PVCHR has informed the AHRC that on 9 December a false complaint has been filed against Dr. Lenin and Ms. Shruti Nagavanshi, Ms. Anupam Nagavanshi and Ms. Kalawati – three other activists of the PVCHR – at Phoolpur Police Station upon which the police has registered a First Information Report (FIR). It is also reported that Dr. Lenin and his colleagues may be arrested anytime by the police based upon the false charge. If this happens, the life and security of Dr. Lenin and other activists could be at risk.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

The AHRC upon receiving information from the PVCHR regarding cases of starvation and hunger from Uttar Pradesh had in the recent past issued three Urgent Appeals/Hunger Alerts. The case concerning Mukesh’s [HA-014-2007] was published on 24 November 2007, Jigar Musahar’s case [HA-015-2007] was published on 30 November 2007 and Pritam’s case [UA-333-2007] was published on 4 December 2007.

These cases received wide publicity through local and international media. Help from different corners arrived to the victims, and in the process it triggered a media outcry against starvation and hunger and the continuing failure of the state administration to address this issue. National media wrote front-page editorials, while the electronic media gave wide coverage to the issue by allotting prime-time news coverage to these cases, the latest of which was by the NDTV on 10 December 2007 [in Hindi]. The NDTV special news report was aired in India, UAE and the UK at 7.30pm Indian Standard Time. All these reports confirm the reports made by the PVCHR and the AHRC concerning malnutrition and starvation in India.

The state administration in the meanwhile haphazardly responded to the issue. The response by the state administration was in two different directions, unfortunately one opposing the other. Once the appeals were issued, the administration immediately dispatched some of its senior most government officers to the remote villages to study the situation. In one such case some of the senior most administrative officers literally flew into the Anei village in a helicopter. Anei is the village from Jigar case was reported. The officers, under the direction of the Chief Minister office took immediate steps to ensure that there would be no further starvation deaths in the village. The officers made overnight arrangements to measure the land and even allotted land to the lower caste community in the village within hours.

The issue of starvation and malnourishment was also picked up by various political parties in the state. Mr. Rahul Gandhi, a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh coming to know about the case of Mukesh made arrangements to provide treatment to Mukesh at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Mukesh was shifted to the AIIMS and is now receiving treatment at the AIIMS. While this was going on the state Chief Minister appeared on television and gave a statement that the reports made by the PVCHR and the AHRC concerning starvation and deaths from malnutrition were false. Simultaneously Dr. Lenin started receiving life threatening calls on his mobile telephone number +91 99355 99333.

Now, the PVCHR has been informed that a person named Mr. Rajendar Tiwari has filed a complaint against Dr. Lenin and his colleagues at the Phoolpur Police Station making false allegations against Dr. Lenin and the PVCHR. It is interesting to note that Mr. Tiwari, the village head of Belwa village who is also the complainant in the case, is a person against whom Dr. Lenin in the past as the member of the District Vigilance Committee against Bonded Labor has filed complaints, based on which there is a warrant of arrest issued by the Magistrate Court that is pending against Mr. Tiwari. The FIR states that Mr. Tiwari himself reported at Phoolpur Police Station along with his brother and has given the First Information Statement. The question is why the local police did not arrest a person against whom there was a warrant of arrest pending when he presented himself at the police station.

For further information regarding Mr. Tiwari and his antecedents please see UA-138-2005. This case was taken up by the UN Special Procedure Mechanism. This exposes the connivance of the local administration to silence the PVCHR and Dr. Lenin somehow or other. Belwa is a village covered by the PVCHR in its daily work and several cases of atrocities committed against the Dalit community in Belwa by Mr. Tiwari has been reported in the past by the AHRC and the PVCHR.

Now that the facts have become clear, Dr. Lenin has written to the Governor of the State with copies to the district administration pleading to save his life and to ensure independent judicial and administrative process into the issue. A translated copy of the letter written by Dr. Lenin is posted below for your information:

To, 
Honorable Governor,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

10 December 2007

Subject: About fake FIR against Human Rights Defender and Death Threat.

Respected Sir,

I Dr. Lenin, son of Mr. Surendra Nath, resident of SA 4/2A, Daulatpur, within the jurisdiction of Cantonment Police Station, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh wish to inform you the following. I am a Human Rights Defender and also a member of District Vigilance Committee on Bonded Labour. I am also the convener of the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, working on human rights issues in Uttar Pradesh. I work on issues of Hunger / Starvation and deaths due to hunger. Due to this, the state government has ordered an investigation, raising false accusations against me and my organisation; and antisocial elements are issuing death threat to me.

The village-head of Belwa of Badagaon administrative block, filed First Information Report [FIR] against me at Phoolpur Police Station under the section ?505 B on 9th December, 2007 [crime?number 356/07]. In this FIR, the village-head Mr. Rajendar Thiwari has made false allegations that I am delivering anti-state leactures and my staff and myself were taking nude photographs of the villagers. Earlier I had filed a case against Mr. Thiwari. I filed this as a member of the District Vigilance Committee on Bonded Labour. This case was registered as FIR 92/2002, charge sheet number 117/2002, as crime number 114/2002 dated 23 April 2002. This case is still in court. Court has issued a warrant against him and he still wanted by the court. But this man has now filed an FIR against us at the Phoolpur Police Station and the policemen did not arrest him. It is very clear that the district administration, the state government and the anti Dalit forces are working jointly for eliminating our work in the state.???

Additionally in 2005 when Mr. Satyanarayan Giri was contesting the Panchayath election against Mr. Thiwari, Mr. Tiwari’s friend Mr. Ramasray Singh abused me and threatened me with death. In this incident I filed an application to the Senior Superintendent of Police [SSP] Varanasi, on 6th August 2005 by registered post. I requested the SSP to save my life. On 9th August 2005 Hong based regional human rights group, the Asian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] issued an Urgent Appeal and then the police registered FIR against him as Crime 117/05 under section 504, 506 Indian Penal Code. This case is still pending in court. In this case three Rapporteurs from the UN have written to the central government expressing concern about my case.

On 4th December 2007 I was in Delhi participating in a programme jointly organised by the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights [NCDHR] and the National Human Rights Commission of India. While I was in Delhi, I again received death threats on my cell phone 9935599333 at about 4.30 ?4.42 pm on 4th December, 2007. The call was from Varanasi and the caller said ?if you raise the issue of starvation and hunger death then you must be killed?.?After this, again the AHRC issued an urgent appeal on 4th December 2007. After returning to Varanasi on 6th December 2007 I filed petition by registered post to the SSP requesting to save me and protect my properties. I am writing for your kind notice that a baby from village Bhaisanare of District Jaunpur named Mukesh aged 4 years who was suffering from Grade IV malnutrition. When this news was reported in the media the Member of Parliament Mr. Rahul Gandhi brought the baby to the All India Institute of Medical IIMS. He admitted the baby in the hospital and after this the Chief Minister Ms. Mayawathi organised a press conference and made some false allegations against our organisation.

That is why I want to inform you that the situation is very sensitive and keeping notice of afore said things, a judicial process must be held in any action taken upon these issues. I am afraid that at any time the administration and the government might kill me and try to make fake cases against me. This is why I am praying to you to please take all necessary actions to protect my right to life and also that of the activists associated with me.

I am most obliged to you.

Dr. Lenin Raghuvansi

Enclosure:

1. FIR against thiwari
2. FIR against Ramasraysingh
3. AHRC UA
4. Letter to the ssp
5. Medical certificate of Mukesh

The AHRC will keep you informed about the further developments in the case. However in the meanwhile if you wish to receive any additional information, please contact:
Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, Convener PVCHR, SA 4/2 A, Dulatpur, Varanasi, 221002, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA. Email: pvchr@yahoo.com

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send letters to the relevant authorities listed below, urging them to order an inquiry into the entire series of events concerning the registration of compliant at Phulpoor Police Station against Dr. Lenin and other activists of the PVCHR. It is pertinent to find out why the local police did not arrest the complainant, a known criminal of the locality, against whom a warrant of arrest is pending from the local court when he presented himself at the police station. In case if Dr. Lenin and his colleagues are arrested all legal formalities should be complied to ensure the safety of Dr. Lenin and his colleagues. 

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, calling for an intervention in this case.

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