Torture, harassment of a youth by BSF men in Cooch Behar dist: Complaint to NHRC

Complaint to the chairman, National Human Rights Commission, by Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convener, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI):

I am writing this to inform you about an incident of brutal torture and harassment of a marginalized Muslim man named Asidul Miya by Border Security Force personnel associated with Chitrakut BSF BOP. The victim is a resident of Kaiyeterbari village of Sitai Block, Dinhata subdivision in the district of Cooch Behar. The victim has to sustain a family of six and his main source of livelihood is agriculture and a small grocery store run by him.
On 09.03.2022, the victim was picked up from his village, where he was allegedly associated with illegal cross-border smuggling and taken near the fencing gate. He was then brutally tortured and forcefully submerged in mud by the perpetrator on duty BSF personnel. The victim was later rescued by the villagers and taken to a doctor at Cooch Behar for treatment. The victim lodged a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Cooch Behar district but no action has yet been taken against the perpetrators.
This incident is a gross violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and also the premise of Article 6, 7 and 9 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights along with Goal 16 of Sustainable Development Goals which has been earmarked by the United Nations and in both of these instruments India is a party and has agreement. The fact that the victim had to engage himself with illegal trade is violating the purpose of Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This incident legitimizes our long-standing demand for immediate ratification of United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment.
I request your urgent intervention in this case to bring justice to the victim and his family members by taking these necessary actions:

The BSF should be posted through the IBP of the border and not inside the villages
Specific criminal case to be registered against the perpetrator BSF.
FIR should be lodged immediately against the perpetrator BSF on the basis of the complaint lodged before the SP of Cooch Behar, and a copy of the complaint should be made handed over to the victim
The perpetrator BSF should be tried and tested for the torture that has been committed by them
Victim, his family and the witness should be protected.
There should be an independent inquiry into the case.

Comments

India’s climate tech ecosystem in dire need of both early, growth-stage funding: Report

By Our Representative India’s climate tech ecosystem, which boasts over 800 startups, is in dire need of both early and growth-stage funding to leverage its full potential, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (Ventures) and MUFG Bank , Japan. Despite a robust initial funding landscape, with approximately two-thirds of climate tech startups receiving seed capital, growth-stage investments remain critically lacking.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded reaction in the form of a link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

UNEP report on how climate crisis is impacting displacement, global conflicts, declining health

By Shankar Sharma* A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled "A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," warrants urgent attention from our country’s developmental perspective. The findings, detailed in the report, should be a source of significant concern not only globally but especially for our nation, which has a vast population and limited natural resources.

Industries fueling climate crisis draining public funds in Global South: ActionAid

By Our Representative A new ActionAid report has exposed the alarming financial drain on the Global South, as climate-wrecking industries like fossil fuels and industrial agriculture receive over US$600 billion annually in public subsidies. The report, "How the Finance Flows: Corporate Capture of Public Finance Fuelling the Climate Crisis in the Global South", reveals that an average of US$677 billion in public finance is directed toward climate-destructive sectors each year, depriving crucial social sectors such as education.

75 years of revolution: How China moved away from ideals of struggle for human liberation

By Harsh Thakor* On October 1st, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, a pivotal moment in the struggle for human liberation. From 1949 to 1976, China achieved remarkable social equality and revolutionary democracy, outpacing other developing nations in literacy, health care, agricultural output, and industrial production.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Overcoming extreme backwardness 75 yrs ago, China has 'risen to 2nd largest economy of the world'

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* On October 1, 1949, the revolutionary people of China established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) by defeating Western imperialism, Japanese colonialism, and Chinese feudal warlords who unleashed a ‘white terror’ on Chinese people, communists and revolutionaries.

Search This Blog