05-West Bengal.pdf - People's watch

the spot, and arrested Krishna, following the complaint lodged by Patitpaban’s relatives stating that she
had kidnapped the latter and demanded Rs.1 lakh. She was taken to the police station without a lady
police escort. At the station she was forced to sign in a paper with fabricated facts. The police also failed
to listen to her charges and drove her away from the police station. It is reported that the victim on several
occasions went to Baruipur Police Station for lodging complaint against Patitpaban Ghosh but the
officials refused to register her complaint
FF Code : W.B./Mon(Susmita Roy Chowdhury)
District-South 24 Parganas/ FEB-29/2/2008/Sl.No.- 141
Victim(s) : 1) Lakhan Singh 2) Shanti Devi 3) Satyen Mondal
Perpetrator(s) : 1) Sunil Ghosh 2) Lakhi Devi 3) Jayanta Shara, SI
Location : Hatgachia, South 24 Parganas
Date of incident : 12/02/2008
Case Details:
There are nearly fifteen thousand people residing in Hatgachia region. Prior to the incident, a newspaper
report stated that the Government of India had announced 270 sq.ft of land for erecting flats, in the
process of slum development. A conspiracy smelled in the air that the Government would evict the
people from their land. Accordingly on 12 th February 2008 Ms. Lakhi Devi, the local counselor, Mr. Sunil
Ghosh and 15 other members of the ruling CPI(M) Party came and started surveying the area. The
residents denied giving their signatures on the documents. Victim Lakhan Singh who was witnessing the
officials force the people to sign in the documents resisted the party members. The latter were enraged
at this and started assaulting the victim and his son Satyen Singh. Shanti devi, W/o Lakhan Singh, who
ran for her husband’s rescue was also pushed aside. Tapan Sengupta, a person witnessing this
informed the police, who rushed to the place. Despite the fact that police had gathered in the place, the
perpetrators didn’t withdraw, instead they broke open the houses of the victims broke the windows,
television set, computer system, and motor bike. Various reporters arrived at the place, following which
the police and the perpetrators left the place. In the evening a rally was organized by about 2500 people
of the area in protest. The police tried to convince that it was wise to accept the proposal of the government
as it was their benefit, and threatened that they would be filed under false cases. The Secretary of the
Slum Development Committee stated that the government has plans to hand over the land to financially
sound people.
West Bengal
419
Annual Report on Torture
2007