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UPDATE (India): Alleged rape and killing of a girl increase tensions in Singur

December 19, 2006

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Indian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Indian authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

19 December 2006

[RE: UA-393-2006: INDIA: Police violently assaulted peaceful peasants in West Bengal; UP-224-2006: INDIA: Journalists and protesters criticizing the brutal attack on Singur village protesters are severely injured by the police]
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UP-231-2006: INDIA: Alleged rape and killing of a girl increase tensions in Singur 

INDIA: Rape; extra-judicial killings;
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the body of 18-year-old girl was found being burnt inside the disputed land in Singur where the agrarians are resisting forceful eviction by the state government. It is believed that the girl was raped and then set on fire to cover up the crime. The police allegedly refused to register the complaint lodged by the girl's father and claims that the girl committed suicide. However, the police version is very doubtful because it does not explain how the girl could enter the land surrounded by fences and guarded by more than 4,000 police officers and persons from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) party members and who are alleged to have set fire to her body. Due to the incident tension between the local villagers and the police and local administration have intensified.  To learn about the matter of forced eviction in Singur, please refer to: UA-393-2006 and UP-224-2006. 

CASE DETAILS:

Singur in Hooghly district of West Bengal was in the national news because of the resistance by the agrarian populace against their forceful eviction from their property by the state government. The TATA group had been permitted to establish a 'small car' factory after the forced acquisition of the total 997.1 acres of fertile land by the West Bengal state government.

The local administration has then recently constructed fences around the concerned land in Singur in order to prevent the local villagers from entering the land. Also, the area has been reportedly guarded by more than 4,000 policemen and CPIM members and is under the total control of these people.

At around 4:30am on 18 December 2006, 18-year-old Tapasi Malik came out from her house in Bajemelia village in Singur area to go to toilet. Later people in the village were attracted by a bad smell and they saw a fire inside the concerned land. When about 50-60 villagers went to the scene, they saw the girl's body was set on fire and a big hole had been dug that indicated that she was about to be buried (Photo 1: The hole in the land). They then put out a fire on the half-burned body and found that her undergarments had been removed (Photo 2: The victim's body). It is believed that the girl was raped and the perpetrators attempted to burn the body before burying it to destroy the evidence of the crime. However, the villagers did not see anyone in the area and it seems that the perpetrators fled the scene immediately after hearing the villagers coming.  The distance between the girl's house and the place of occurrence is about 100-120 meters.

After learning of the incident, more villagers gathered and protested against the killing of a girl. Soon after, Mr. Supratim Sarkar, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Hooghly district rushed to the place of the incident with a huge contingent of police and sealed the spot. Shockingly, instead of investigating the incident, the SP then allegedly called the girl's father Mr. Manoranjan Malik and forced him to sign a paper which he was not allowed to read. However, the father was told by the police that the girl committed suicide. It is suspected that the SP might have fabricated the statement about the false suicide story and got the father's signature.

After the strong intervention with local human rights activists, the girl's father was taken to the Singur police station to lodge a written complaint but the police refused to register it.

The girl's half-burn body was brought to Serampore Walsh Hospital for post mortem examination but the attending doctors refused to do accept it. The body was then taken by the police to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital where the post mortem was done in the afternoon on December 18. The police did not hand over to the girl's body to the family but instead brought it back to the morgue of Serampore Walsh Hospital, where the body is being kept.

The circumstances of the incident mentioned above raises suspicion that the alleged rapists might be either the policemen or CPIM members posting the area. First, it is almost impossible for a young girl to go inside the land surrounded by the fences where huge numbers of police and CPIM members are posted. Second, if she committed suicide who dug the hole and set her on fire? Third, it is almost impossible for the villagers or ordinary people to be able to dig a big hole within the guarded land without getting being noticed by more than 4,000 policemen and the CPIM members posted there. It should also be explained as to why the SP of Hooghly attempted to cover up the incident by forcibly getting the girl's father's signature in a paper, the contents of which were not informed to him and why the police refused to register the father's complaint and tried to treat the case as a simple Unnatural Death (UD) Case.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and demand prompt and full inquiry about this serious case. The alleged perpetrators should be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible. Please urge them to ensure that the case is registered with the police under rape and murder charges and that the investigation is conducted impartially.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

INDIA: Alleged rape and killing of a girl intensify the tension in Singur 

Name of victim: Miss. Tapasi Malik, aged 18, resident of Gopal Nagar, Bajemelia village under Singur police station, Hooghly district, West Bengal, India
Name of victim's father: Mr. Manoranjan Malik, a landless labourer in Bajemelia village
Alleged perpetrators: unidentified but believed either as policemen or CPIM members who are stationing the land in Singur forcibly acquainted by the West Bengal state government
Date and place of incident: Early morning hours after 4:30am on 18 December 2006 at the said disputed land

I am extremely disturbed to learn about the alleged rape and subsequent killing of 18-year-old girl in Bajemelia village of SIngur area on 18 December 2006. Her body was found being burnt in a hole inside the disputed land in Singur where the agrarians are resisting forceful eviction by the state government.

According to the information I have received, at around 4:30am on 18 December 2006, 18-year-old Tapasi Malik came out from her house in Bajemelia village in Singur area to go to the toilet. Later about 50-60 villagers, who were attracted by the bad smell and fire, went to the scene and found that the girl's body and a big hole that had been dug.  This indicated that she was about to be buried. The villagers also found that the girl's undergarments had been removed. The circumstances of the incident indicate that the girl was raped and then the perpetrators attempted to burn and then bury her to destroy the evidence of the crime.

However, I am deeply annoyed to learn that instead of investigating the incident Mr. Supratim Sarkar, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Hooghly district rushed to the place of the incident with a huge contingent of police force and sealed the spot. The said SP further allegedly forced the girl's father to sign on a paper which he was not allowed to read. The father was also told by the police that his daughter committed suicide. Through these facts, I suspect that the SP might have fabricated the statement about false suicide story and got the father's signature. I was also informed that the Singur police refused to register the written complaint lodged by the girl's father. 

On December 18, the post mortem was conducted on the girl's body at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. However, the police have not handed over the dead body of deceased girl to her family members and are keeping the body at the morgue of Serampore Walsh Hospital.

The circumstances of the incident mentioned above make me suspicious that the alleged rapists might be either the policemen or CPIM members posting at the site.

First, it is almost impossible for a young girl to go inside the land surrounded by the fences where huge numbers of police and CPIM members are posted. Second, if she committed suicide, who  dug the hole and set her on fire? Third, it is almost impossible for the villagers or ordinary people to be able to dig a big hole within the guarded land without being noticed by more than 4,000 policemen and the CPIM members posted there. It should also be explained that why the SP of Hooghly attempted to cover up the incident by forcibly getting the girl's father's signature in a paper which contents are not informed and why the police refused to register the father's complaint and try to treat the case as a simple Unnatural Death (UD) Case.

In light of the above, I strongly call for your immediate intervention into this matter. I urge you to immediately register the case of the alleged rape and killing in the concerning police station and to appoint an independent investigating authority to enquire the whole incident so that the perpetrators responsible for this brutal crime could be brought to justice without delay. I also urge you to take proper care and safety of the victim family and witnesses, if there is any. I also request you to ensure that the post mortem report is revealed to public and the girl's body is returned to her family. I further request you to inquire about the alleged cover-up of the incident by the police, including the SP of Hooghly district and take proper action against responsible officers. I also urge you to ensure that adequate compensation is given to the victim's family.

I look for your urgent intervention into this case.


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister's Office
Room number 152, South Block
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23016857

2. 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 2214 5480/ 2214 1341

3. Justice Mr. Y. K. Sabharwal
Chief Justice of India
Through the Office of the Registrar General
Supreme Court of India
1 Tilak Marg, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23383792

4. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in

5. Chief Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22144328

6. Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22143001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in

7. Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Jaisalmer Hosue
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23094221/ 23794833

8. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-231-2006
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.