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INDIA: Tortured by BSF along Indo-Bangladesh border

June 7, 2012

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-020-2012

7 June 2012
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[RE: AHRC-UAC-032-2012: INDIA: A person tortured by the BSF again along the Indo-Bangladesh border]
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INDIA: Tortured by BSF along Indo-Bangladesh border

ISSUES: Torture; threats and intimidation; police violence; impunity; corruption; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information concerning the corruption of a driver of 'G' Branch of 'E' Company of 152 Battalion of the BSF who had been bribed to permit smuggling and who, when in danger of being exposed, turned on the victim, Mr Abdul Karim Molla, and brutally assaulted him. Mr Yunus Molla, Karim's father, lodged a formal complaint with Swarupnagar Police Station, but no action was subsequently taken to address the crime against Karim. Instead, the family has been threatened and harassed by the BSF and other police officials who wish to see the case withdrawn. The deception of the BSF driver, the complicity of the local Panchayat in acts of violence and intimidation against their own constituents and the inaction by informed police authorities are troubling. Such corruption, violence and impunity must be quickly and effectively addressed by the local authorities and central government for peace and justice to prevail.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

In the Urgent Appeal Case (For further details, please see: AHRC-UAC-032-2012), it was reported that around 7.10am on 11 February 2012, Mr Abdul Karim Molla, son of Mr Yunus Molla, had been planning to cross the Indo-Bangladesh border near Bithari Border Outpost to smuggle two pieces of leather into Bangladesh. Karim had made an earlier deal with Mr Brijesh, a driver of 'G' Branch of 'E' Company of 152 Battalion of the BSF to overlook this smuggling activity.

When Karime was ready to cross the border with the leather, Mr Akbar Khan, then the Company Commander of the 'E' Company, arrived unannounced. Afraid that the Commander would discover his corruption, the driver began assaulting Karim with a bamboo pole and verbally abused him. The Commander witnessed this brutal attack. Karim sustained cuts and bruises and was so pained he was unable to move.

Around 11.30pm the next day (12 February), a group of BSF officers from the 'E' Company forced their way into Karim's house without producing any warrant or reason for the intrusion. Karim's parents were home and the officers threatened "dire consequences" while asking after Karim. Although Karim was home, he managed to escape arrest.

Karim's father, Mr Yunus Molla, filed a complaint against the perpetrator at Swarupnagar Police Station and also informed MASUM of the incident. The complaint was registered as General Diary Entry No. 647/12 dated 14 February 2012. Infuriated, the BSF officers began to threaten the family, trying to frighten them into withdrawing the complaint. Police officers from the local panchayat joined in these threats and intimidating acts.

Around 8.10pm on 22 February, Yunus was accosted when returning home from his shop in front of Mr Majid Master's house in the village where Karim lives. Fifteen to twenty BSF officers surrounded Yunus, led by the Company Commander. The Commander held Yunus by his neck and pushed him, threatening that if the complaint was not withdrawn by 9am the next day the BSF would make his life hell. Yunus was so terrified he left his home and began hiding elsewhere.

MASUM has since received news that Yunus, Karim and their family have been continually harassed by the BSF and police ever since. Around 7.20pm on 28 March, a personnel from the BSF's Amudia Camp, identified as Mr V. P. Singh and a member of the Panchayet from Daharkandi Villge, Mr Jahirul Haq Chowdhury visited Yunus' bicycle repair shop at Swarupdah Market under the jurisdiction of Swarupnagar Police Staion. The BSF officer threatened, in the presence of the Panchayet member, "You are daring to complain against the BSF. Your audacity will cost you your life. If you do not withdraw the complaint, I will report that and you will have to visit the BSF camp by 9am on 29 March if you wish to live."

Yunus once again alerted the Additional Superintendent of Police of North 24 Parganas to the threat made upon his life and physical security with a written complaint on 30 March, but again, no action was taken to ensure his safety or to investigate and punish the BSF responsible for these acts of intimidation, violence and impunity.

Despite appeals from MASUM and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the Director General of the BSF, the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate of North 24 Parganas and various international human rights bodies, no action has been taken by the district, state and central authorities. It is disgraceful that individuals are being forced to live amidst such fear and insecurity, and that the perpetrators are themselves entrusted to protect these very individuals they are now persecuting. An independent and impartial investigating agency must immediately be appointed by the National Human Rights Commission to investigate, and, if necessary, recommend punitive action to be taken against these BSF officers who have robbed Yunus and his family of their constitutional and human rights. The complicity of the Panchayat in these violent acts and intimidation should be thoroughly investigated as well; the police have a moral and legal obligation to their constituents' safety and should certainly not participate, either actively or passively, in threats against these individuals.

We call upon the relevant authorities to act today. The physical safety of the family and witnesses must be assured. The community at large must furthermore be promised that such acts of violence and impunity will henceforth cease so that their faith in the justice system can be restored, and they may live peacefully and with a sense of security.

Yours sincerely,


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-020-2012
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.