Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner organisation MASUM in West Bengal, India regarding the brutal torture of a 21 year-old man named Mr. Ramesh Pramanik near the No-2 Border Outpost at Dayarampur village in Murshidabad, West Bengal on 11 December 2006. Mr. Ramesh was allegedly beaten and publicly humiliated by drunken officer Major Govind Singh of the Boarder Security Force (BSF) after the victim was wrongfully accused as being an illegal alien from Bangladesh. After the victim fled the scene for his life, he filed a written complaint with the Jalangi Police Station over the incident; however, the officers in charge rejected his claim and proceeded to verbally abuse him. The next day, the victim was visited by state representatives who attempted to intimidate him to drop his complaint. Mr. Ramesh refused and wrote letters to the Murshidabad District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police. To date, no action has been taken by the government to resolve this case.
CASE DETAILS:
At around 1:00 pm on 11 December 2006, Mr. Ramesh Pramanik was on his way home with friends after taking a bath in the river Padma. When the Border Security Forces (BSF) saw the young man approaching, two officers asked him to stop at which point Major Govind Singh allegedly began blasting accusations that Mr. Ramesh is a citizen of Bangladesh and has been living in India under false citizenship documents. Major Govind Singh, who was heavily intoxicated, began beating him with bamboo sticks. Major Govind then allegedly seized a gun from another BSF officer and threatened to kill the victim. He then allegedly forced Mr. Ramesh to remove his pants so that he could sexually humiliate him in public. The victim’s neighbours rushed to the scene and demanded that the BSF officials stop the shameful and degrading display of public torture. During the commotion, Mr. Ramesh luckily managed to escape the abuse.
When Mr. Sujit Pramanik, a relative of Mr. Ramesh asked Major Govind Singh and another BSF officer why the victim was beaten, they reiterated that Mr. Ramesh was not a legitimate citizen of the country. Major Govind Singh then asked Mr. Sujit to make arrangement for the surrender of Mr. Ramesh before the BSF. However, Mr. Sujit realized that if the victim surrendered he would likely face similar torture at the very least. He therefore advised Mr. Ramesh not to visit the BSF Outpost again.
Later that day, Mr. Ramesh received medical treatment for his injuries at Sadekhan’s Dear Block Public Health Centre. Afterwards at 5:30 pm, he visited the Jalangi Police Station with Mr. Sujit and attempted to lodge a written complaint against Major Govind Singh and the other BSF officials.
However, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Firdous Ali allegedly refused to register the complaint because the accused were the BSF officials and began verbally assaulting Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Sujit. When Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Sujit insisted that they be able to register the complaint, SI Somnath Bandyopadhyay, the Officer In-Charge of police station appeared and ordered ASI Firdous Ali to record a General Diary Entry (#556/06).
The next day at about 11:30 am, Mr. Swapan Kumar Saha, Sub Inspector with the Jalangi Police station visited Rajesh’s house, his neighbourhood and the Dayarampur Border Outpost to investigate the incident.
At about 1:00 pm, a Sub Inspector posted with Dayarampur Border Outpost and other officers along with officials of the BSF visited the victim’s house. They were accompanied with local officials including Mr. Phul Kumar Singh, Company Commandant, Border Security Force posted at Faraji Para Border Out Post, Battalion No 90 and Mr. Parimal Biswas, Deputy-Pradhan of Ghosh Para Gram Panchayat, Jalangi Police Station. The officials also allegedly invited local smugglers to join their group.
The group visited the victim’s house and attempted to convince him and his family through intimidation to negotiate a solution that would be favourable to the perpetrators.
However, the victim and his family did not give in.
Mr. Ramesh then sent letters of complaint to the District Magistrate of Murshidabad district; the Superintendent of Police of Murshidabad and Deputy Inspector General of the BSF. To date, no action has been taken by any these officials and Mr. Ramesh is still waiting for justice despite clear evidence. Mr. Ramesh is still living under threat and intimidation by local thugs, the BSF and Police.
The AHRC condemns this act of torture and demands that the victim receives justice. It is clear that the BSF officers have abused their power in violently assaulting an innocent man. MASUM has a copy of Ramesh’s identity card, which clearly shows he is a citizen of India. The BSF’s actions are destructive, hateful and criminal. The officers involved must be punished accordingly.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the relevant Indian authorities and demand justice for this victim. Please ask them to fully compensate the victim and his family and demand that action be taken against the perpetrators.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
INDIA: Border Security Force personnel allegedly tortures and sexually harasses man in public
Name of the victim: Mr. Ramesh Pramanik, 21 years-old
Name of alleged perpetrators: 1) Govind Singh, Major, Border Security Force, No. 2 Out Post, Dayarampur Village, Jalangi Police Station, Murshidabad District, West Bengal, India; 2) Mr. Phul Kumar Singh, Company Commandant, Border Security Force, posted at Faraji Para Border Outpost; 3) One Sub Inspector of Dayarampur Outpost; 4) Two on-duty officers of Dayarampur Outpost; 5) Mr. Firdous Ali, Assistant Sub Inspector of the Jalangi Police Station; 6) Parimal Biswas, Upapradhan, Ghosh Para Gram Panchayat, Police Station.
Place of incident: Area near No 2 Border Outpost, Dayarampur Village, Jalangi Police Station, Murshidabad District, West Bengal, India
Date of incident: On 11 December 2006, at about 1 p.m.
I am writing to voice my deep concern over the alleged torture and sexual abuse of 21 year-old Mr. Ramesh Pramanik on 11 December 2006. It disgusts me to hear that the abuse was carried out in public by a major from the Border Security Force (BSF) named Govind Singh. I ask that you immediately arrest this alleged perpetrator and independently investigate the case. I also know that the victim is living in a state of fear and has already been visited by a group of state officials and local thugs in their attempt to convince him to drop the charges he filed. This victim needs immediate protection and I ask that you grant him full compensation for the extremely traumatic and degrading experience he suffered at the hands of the government.
According to the information I have received, at around 1:00 pm on 11 December 2006, Mr. Ramesh stopped by the BSF officials when he was on his way home with friends after taking a bath in the river Padma. Major Govind Singh then allegedly began blasting accusations that Mr. Ramesh is a citizen of Bangladesh and has been living in India under false citizenship documents. Major Govind Sindh, who was allegedly heavily intoxicated, began beating him with bamboo sticks. He then allegedly seized a gun from another BSF officer and threatened to kill the victim. He also forced the victim to remove his pants so that he could sexually abuse him in public. Mr. Ramesh luckily managed to escape the abuse.
I have heard that when Mr. Sujit Pramanik, a relative of Mr. Ramesh asked Major Govind Singh and another BSF officer why the victim was beaten, they reiterated that Mr. Ramesh was not a legitimate citizen of the country. Major Govind Singh then asked Mr. Sujit to make arrangement for the surrender of Mr. Ramesh before the BSF but Mr. Sujit did not follow this.
Later that day, Mr. Ramesh received medical treatment for his injuries at Sadekhan’s Dear Block Public Health Centre. Afterwards at 5:30 pm, he visited the Jalangi Police Station with Mr. Sujit and attempted to lodge a written complaint against Major Govind Singh and the other BSF officials.
However, I am deeply upset to hear that Assistant Sub Inspector Firdous Ali refused to register the complaint and began verbally assaulting the two men. When Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Sujit insisted that they be able to register the complaint, SI Somnath Bandyopadhyay, the Officer In-charge of Police Station appeared and ordered ASI Firdous Ali to record a General Diary Entry (#556/06).
I am also informed that the next day at about 11:30 am, Mr. Swapan Kumar Saha, Sub Inspector with the Jalangi Police station visited Rajesh’s house, his neighbourhood and the Dayarampur Border Outpost to investigate the incident.
Then, I heard that at about 1:00 pm, a Sub Inspector posted with Dayarampur Border Outpost and other officers along with officials of the BSF visited the victim’s house. They were reportedly accompanied with local officials including Mr. Phul Kumar Singh, Company Commandant, Border Security Force posted at Faraji Para Border Out Post, Battalion No 90 and Mr. Parimal Biswas, Deputy-Pradhan of Ghosh Para Gram Panchayat, Jalangi Police Station. The officials also invited local smugglers to join their group.
I understand that the group visited the victim’s house and attempted to convince him and his family through intimidation to negotiate a solution that would be favourable to the perpetrators. However, the victim and his family did not give in.
I know that Mr. Ramesh then sent letters of complaint to the District Magistrate, Murshidabad; the Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad and Deputy Inspector General of the BSF. I also know that no action has been taken by any these officials and Mr. Ramesh is still waiting for justice despite clear evidence. Mr. Ramesh is still living under threat and intimidation by local thugs, the BSF and the police.
I condemn this act of torture and ask that you work to ensure that this victim receives justice. It is clear to me that the BSF officers have abused their power in violently assaulting an innocent man. I am informed that Mr. Ramesh has an identity card, which clearly shows that he is a citizen of India. The BSF’s actions are destructive, hateful and criminal. I urge that you punish the officers involved accordingly, while granting protection and compensation to this young man who has suffered enough. I also concerned about the repeated violations committed by the BSF. I therefore urge the Government of India to impose strict action to maintain the discipline among the BSF personnel.
I look forward to hearing about your positive response to this serious matter.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister/ Minister of Home Department
Government of West Bengal
Writer’s Building
Kolkata – 700 001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22145480/ 22141341
2. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23384863
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
3. Chief Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata – 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22144328
4. Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata – 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22143001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in
5. Mr. A. B. Bhora
Director General & Inspector General of Police
Government of West Bengal
Writers Buildings
Kolkata-1
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22145544
6. Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen
Chairman
West Bengal Human Rights Commission
Bhabani Bhavan, Alipore
Kolkata – 700027
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 4797259 / 5558866
Fax: +91 33 24799633
Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
7. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
