Urgent Take Action!!!!!!!!!

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Rinita Mazumdar

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May 31, 2010, 11:49:35 AM5/31/10

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----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Kirity Roy <kiri...@gmail.com>
To: MASUM <masum...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thu, 27 May, 2010 11:03:48 PM
Subject: (in- Solidarity request: India/ West Bengal: Alleged rape attempt, sexual harassment and beatings of a 45-year-old married woman by BSF [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Kirity Roy included below]

Please support the Urgent Appeal issued by OMCT -- it is a case of sexual assault of a woman by the armed forces of India

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: OMCT urgent appeals <appeals@list. omct.org>
Date: 20 May 2010 20:22
Subject: India/ West Bengal: Alleged rape attempt, sexual harassment and beatings of a 45-year-old married woman by BSF
To: India - MASUM - Kirity Roy <kirityroy@gmail. com>

Case IND 200510/ IND 200510.VAW
URGENT CAMPAIGNS/ VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Alleged rape attempt, sexual harassment and beatings/ Risk of impunity

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India/ West Bengal.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the alleged rape attempt, sexual harassment and beatings of a 45-year-old married woman[1] from the village of Kulnandapur.

According to the information received, on 24 April 2010 around 3:00am, the victim and her husband were at their residence keeping their firewood in a safe place to protect it from the rain when four agents from the Border Security Force (BSF) approached and asked the victim if she had seen any person passing by. When she answered that she had not seen anyone, she was allegedly hit with a baton by one of the BSF agents. She was then reportedly stifled and forcibly dragged to a nearby primary school. The BSF agents reportedly started to sexually harass her and beat her while she was trying to restrict them. According to the victim's testimony, the BSF agents tried to rape her. Afterwards, she was allegedly left injured and in bad conditions at the roadside.

According to the same information, on the morning of that same day, the victim and her family members lodged a complaint at the Bagdah Police Station. The complaint was reportedly registered as a General Diary Entry (GDE) and not treated as a criminal case even if it met the requirements to be treated as such. As of issuing this urgent appeal, the police have not taken any other action to investigate the case.

Subsequently, the victim was reportedly taken to the Bagdah Hospital for medical treatment, but she was then referred to a Hospital in Bongaon, where she was admitted and got medical treatment. The victim is allegedly suffering severe mental trauma.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of the victim and about the lack of action in initiating a proper investigation into the above-mentioned allegations. OMCT fears that the perpetrators may enjoy impunity. Indeed, OMCT has reported several cases in which local police having jurisdiction along the Indo-Bangladesh border have consistently avoided taking any action against the BSF whenever a crime is reported against a BSF officer at the police station.

OMCT recalls that according to article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which India is a party, no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Moreover, according to article 4(c) of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."

Accordingly, OMCT calls on the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the alleged rape attempt, sexual harassment and beatings, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT also calls on the relevant authorities to issue measures of protection and to provide the victim with medical assistance.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in India/ West Bengal urging them to:

i.                     Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of the victim, including access to appropriate medical assistance if necessary, and ensure her protection as well as of her family;
ii.                   Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations, in accordance with international human rights standards, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii.                  Ensure that an effective remedy, including the right to full redress with compensation and rehabilitation be granted to the victim concerned;
iv.                 Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

Ø      Mr. Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857;

Ø      Mr. P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979;

Ø      Justice K. G. Balkrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, Tilak Marg, New Delhi -1, Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@ nic.in;

Ø      Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@nic. in;

Ø      Jusice N. C. Sil, Acting Chairman, West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani Bhaban, Alipur, Kolkata -27. Fax +91 33 24799633, Email: wb...@cal3.vsnl. net.in;

Ø      Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Governor, West Bengal, Raj Bhaban, Kolkata – 62, Phone: +91 33-2200 1641, Fax: +91 33 – 2200 2444 / 2200 1649, secy-gov-wb@ nic.in;

Ø      Mr. Sri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister, Government of West Bengal, Writers’ Buildings, BBD Bagh, Kolkata – 1, Fax - +91 33 22145480, Email - c...@wb.gov.in, sec...@wb.gov. in;

Ø      Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9, 1202 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 906 86 86, Fax: +41 22 906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ ties.itu. int

Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
***
Geneva, 20 May 2010.

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

[1] Name withheld.

--
Kirity Roy
Secretary
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM)
&
National Convenor (PACTI)
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity
26 Guitendal Lane
Howrah 711101
West Bengal INDIA
Mobile: 09903099699
Tele Fax : +91-33-2640 4118
Phone: +91-33-2640 4520
e. mail : kirityroy@gmail. com
Web: www.masum.org. in
__._,_.___
Attachment(s) from Kirity Roy
1 of 1 File(s)
IND 200510_IND 200510.VAW.doc

--
http://rinitamazumdar.com/

Rinita Mazumdar, Ph.D
Women Studies and Philosophy,
University of New Mexico

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