annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 West Bengal
many residents of Bidhannagar
Government Housing in Durgapur after
the residents tried to resist their lewd
behaviour towards the women. The jawans
also allegedly pulled down the dais
bringing the soiree to an end, smashed
window panes of vehicles and allegedly
molested the women. 22 On the morning of
14 November 2004, some of the jawans
again attacked residents at a local market.
On 14 November 2004, five jawans were
detained. Six more India Reserve Battalion
jawans were arrested in the evening of 15
November 2004. 23
A bus driver of North Bengal State
Transport Corporation (NBSTC), Bijoy
Karmakar was allegedly beaten up by the
security guard and the driver of West
Bengal Civil Defence Minister Srikumar
Mukherjee for not giving way to the VIP’s
car on NH-34 near Kualdighi on the
morning of 22 December 2004. Bijoy
Karmakar said he could not immediately
make way for the Minister’s Tata Sumo car
due to the bad road. As the Tata Sumo car
took over the bus, it stopped ahead of the
bus. Then two men emerged from the car
and beat up the bus driver with lathis in the
presence of the Minister. The victim had to
be admitted to health centre at Moulpur in
the Old Malda police station area from
where he was referred to the district
hospital Malda. He reportedly could not
walk and there was a crack in his shinbone.
Karmakar, supported by 20
passengers of the bus filed a complaint
against the Minister and his men at the Old
Malda police station. On the other hand,
the CPI leader’s driver also filed a
complaint against Karmakar at Gajole
police station accusing him of reckless
driving. However, eyewitnesses and bus
passengers said that Karmakar was
brutally beaten up for no fault of his. 24
iii. Violence Against Women
Violence against women by the law
enforcement personnel is rampant in West
Bengal. The highpoint of combating
violence against women was sentencing of
five constables of Reserve Forces of
Kolkata Police to life imprisonment for
murdering traffic sergeant Bapi Sen on 31
December 2002. Bapi Sen, a young traffic
sergeant, had been severely assaulted by
the five constables when he tried to save a
woman from being molested during New
Year’s revelry on the night of 31
December 2002. On 1 July 2004, the
Kolkata city sessions court judge
convicted the five constables identified as
Sridam Bauri, Madhusudan Charkararty,
Pijush Gaswami, Mujibur Rahman and
Shekhar Mitra under IPC sec 302 (murder)
read with section 34 (criminal act in
furtherance of common intent). They were
also fined Rs 10,000 each under section
354 (assault on woman with intent to
outrage her modesty) also read with
section 34. In case of failure to pay the fine
they would have to undergo six months
rigorous imprisonment. 25
Nonetheless, the women in West
Bengal continued to be victims of violence
including assault and rape by the Central
and State security forces and the Railway
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