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INDIA: Corrupt Border Security Force officers connive with cross border smugglers and murder innocent farmer in Murshidabad district, West Bengal

May 2, 2006

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
 
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal
 
3 May 2006
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UA-146-2006: INDIA: Corrupt Border Security Force officers connive with cross border smugglers and murder innocent farmer in Murshidabad district, West Bengal
 
INDIA: Murder; torture; corruption; cross-border smuggling; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,
 
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner, Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (Masum), regarding the death of Mr. Abhilash Mondal, who was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) officers stationed at Out Post number 1, Harudanga Camp (136 Battalion of BSF) on 17 April 2006. It is alleged that Abhilash was shot at while running away from the BSF officers after they charged at him for his questioning of their illegal activities which caused damage to his cornfield.
 
It is reported that on April 17 Abhilash came to know through his brother Jogesh Mondal that a large number of cattle, amounting to roughly one hundred in number, had been gathered in his cornfield. It is reported that the cattle were being smuggled across the India/Bangladesh border.

Coming to know that the cattle were gathered in his field and fearing that they would damage the corn, which they did, Abhilash rushed to the fields with his brother. When they reached the fields they saw the BSF officers and the smugglers arguing. It is alleged that smuggling along the India/Bangladesh border is carried out with the connivance of the BSF officers stationed at the border and it is usual practice for the officers to seize one or two animals, for the sake of the records, and let the other animals and goods pass through. It is alleged that when Abhilash and his brother reached the fields the argument between the BSF officers and the smugglers was about the number of cattle the officers had seized.

Finding that the cattle had damaged his crop, Abhilash protested with the smugglers and the officers about this. The smugglers and the officers responded by beating Abhilash with rifle butts and kicking him. His brother Jogesh managed to escape. Abhilash was seriously injured in the assault. As Abhilash lay injured on the ground, the officers opened fire on him. According to witness testimony thirteen rounds were fired, of which twelve projectiles were recovered from Abhilash’s body. Though the post mortem report is yet to be released, it is said that two projectiles were recovered from Abhilash’s shoulder joint and the rest were found in his abdomen.

Abhilash’s father filed a complaint against the officers alleged to have been involved in the incident at the Raninagar police station on 18 April 2006 against which the police refused to register a case of murder, but registered case number 06/06 as one of unnatural death. The autopsy on Abhilash’s body was carried out at Lalbagh Sub Divisional Hospital and according to the preliminary report the cause of death was certified as one from gun shot injury. Abhilash leaves behind his widow Phool Kumari who is currently pregnant.

On 21 April 2006 Phool Kumari filed a complaint regarding the incident at the office of the Superintendent of Police Murshidabad giving exact details about the incident. However, it is reported that the police are yet to take into custody the officers responsible for the brutal murder and that by all probabilities the officers will not be charged at all. It is also alleged that the witnesses to the incident will soon be put under pressure by the BSF officers with support from the local police.

It is alleged that similar instances are common along the India/Bangladesh border in West Bengal. It is also reported that most of these cases are recorded as cases of persons killed in encounters and no further actions are initiated by the administration or by the government. It is also alleged that witnesses to such incidents, mostly locals, are intimidated and threatened by the BSF officers and anyone who dares to speak out will be murdered, tortured or implicated in false cases with charges of crimes against national security.

Most farmers in the area are poor and hold small to moderate stretches of land along the India/Bangladesh border. In order to engage in farming on these lands the farmers are dependent on the BSF for protection, but at the same time are at their complete mercy and often have to keep silent about any attack upon their rights. Due to this situation, common legal remedies are never sought and this results in the BSF officers enjoying absolute impunity. The local police share the profits of illegal trade with the BSF officers and also further exploit the situation by conniving with them. The local police are also intimidated by the BSF officers since the area is under their command.

The West Bengal state administration show no consideration for the people in the border areas since most of them are, by default, branded as immigrants from Bangladesh, though they are encouraged to cast their votes at the time of elections. This factor is reflected in the acute poverty that exists in the area, particularly in Murshidabad district which has reported more than a dozen cases of starvation.

As of today Phool Kumari is left with nothing other than the memories of her murdered husband and the baby she is carrying. The crop which the family was dependent on is ruined and soon the region will face heavy rains. The family has lost the sole earning member of the family and the state has not paid any compensation to the family for the death. Unless the case is taken up, which will require the intervention of the State as well as the Central Government, there will be no investigation into this matter thereby eliminating all possibilities of the perpetrators being punished.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the relevant authorities seeking for an immediate and effective investigation into the incident, and calling for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. The AHRC also calls for a strong stance to be taken against crimes committed by police officers and on investigation and prosecution of such cases.

Suggested letter:

Dear ______________,

INDIA: Corrupt Border Security Force officers connive with cross border smugglers and murder innocent farmer in Murshidabad district, West Bengal

Name of victim: Mr. Abhilash Mondal, aged about 31 years, formerly residing at Harudanga, Raninagar police station, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
Names alleged perpetrators: Officers (three to four in number and names yet to be identified) from the Indian Border Security Force attached to Outpost number 1 of Harudanga Camp, under the Command of 136 Battalion, Char Kuthi, Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India
Date of incident:  17 April 2006
Place of incident: Outpost number 1 of Harudanga camp along the India/Bangladesh border, Murshidabad district, West Bengal

I am shocked to learn about the murder of Mr. Abhilash Mondal who was shot to death by officers from the Border Security Force stationed at Outpost number 1 of Harudanga Camp, under the Command of 136 Battalion, Char Kuthi, Murshidabad district, West Bengal on 17 April 2006. 

I am informed that Abhilash was brutally beaten and shot after protesting at the BSF officers about the cattle they were detaining on his farm and were about to illegally trade across the border. Abhilash was most upset that the cattle were destroying his corn field that he and his family relied on for survival. In response the BSF officers shot him dead.

I am concerned that the local police will not take further action on the complaint filed by the widow and the father of the victim since the response thus far by the police has only been to register a case of unnatural death; rather than murder as it should be. I am equally concerned about the safety of the brother of the victim Mr. Jogesh Mondal who was with Abhilash prior to his argument with the BSF officers and who is therefore most likely in a position to identify the officers who shot Abhilash. I therefore urge you to immediately intervene in this case and request the state administration to take all possible steps to ensure the safety of the brother of the victim Mr. Jogesh Mondal, who is a witness to the incident.

I also urge for the Chief of the Border Security Force to initiate an immediate impartial inquiry into the incident, identify the perpetrators and handover the officers responsible for the murder to the local police for investigation and prosecution.

I further request you to pressure the Central Government of India to pay interim compensation to the family of the deceased victim.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister and Minister in Charge of Home (Police) Department
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 2214 5555 (O) / 2280 0631 (R)
Fax: +91 33 2214 5480
Email: cm@wb.gov.in

2. Mr. Subhash Awasthi
Director General of Police
Government of West Bengal
Writers Buildings
Kolkata-1
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 2214 4498 / 2214 5486
Email: padgp@wbpolice.gov.in

3. Mr. P.R. Ray
Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings
Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 2214 5656
Fax: +91 33 2214 3001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in

4. Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen
Chairperson
West Bengal Human Rights Commission
Bhabani Bhavan, Alipore
Kolkata – 700027
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 4797259 / 5558866
Fax: +91 33 4799633
Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in

5. Mr. Justice A. S. Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001
INDIA
Tel: +91 11 23074448
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

6. Mr. Shivraj V. Patil
Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Jaisalmer Hosue, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23094221/ 23794833
 
7. The Director General
Border Security Force
B-10, CGO Complex, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 24361202
 
8. Inspector General (Administration)
Border Security Force
B-10, CGO Complex, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 24361202
9. Mr. Manjunath Prasad
District Magistrate - Murshidabad
Murshidabad
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 34 8225 0145

10. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Att: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-146-2006
Countries :
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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.