Skip to main content

Illegitimate raiding, subsequent harassment imposed by the BSF upon woman

Kirity Roy, Secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, writes to the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, on vandalism by BSF:
***
I am writing this present complaint on an incident of criminal trespass, sabotage and loot of private property and outraged the modesty of one woman namely Ms.Azifa (Name changed) Bibi of Bhoram village under Dinhata-II block and Dinhata Police Station in the district of Cooch Behar by the BSF personnel attached with Gitaldaha Border Out Post, ‘B’ Company, Battalion number 90.
The village is situated inside Indian Territory, about 3 kilometers from the Indo-Bangladesh Border Pillar (IBP). Cattle smuggling from this side of the border is frequent. On 31.08.2022 at about 3.25 pm about 20/25 Border Security Force personnel along with Company Commander of the Gitaldaha Border Out Post, ‘B’ Company, Battalion number 90 criminally trespassed the house of the victim and vandalized her house in the name of raiding. Border Security Force personnel also misbehaved with the woman victim by touching her breast and private parts of her body. Even the female victim was forced to naked by the BSF personnel. They looted Rs. 21,000/- cash and gold ornaments.
On 01.09.2022 Ms.Azifa (Name changed) Bibi, lodged one written complaint to the Dinhata Police Station which was not acknowledged by the police officials of the Dinhata Police Station. Later the victim woman submitted another written complaint to the Superintendent of Police of Cooch Behar district through registered post on 06.09.2022 with request to investigate and stop such incidents from happening in the future. But no action in this regard has been taken yet.
The above stated facts and circumstances established that the perpetrator BSF personnel committed abuse of powers by encroaching upon the personal liberty, dignity, honour, criminal trespass and privacy of individual citizens. The incidents also established the degrading behavior of the perpetrator BSF personnel. The tyranny and oppression committed by the perpetrator BSF personnel is violation of fundamental rights and human rights as enshrined in national and international laws and covenants.
Needless to remind that the Commission had held the two-day human rights sensitization programme for BSF personnel posted at Indo-Bangladesh Border at Kolkata on 16-17 February, 2012. Already about ten years elapsed since the programme, but still it appears that the perpetrator BSF personnel is not inclined to respect the human rights of its own citizens thereby violating the caution given by the Supreme Court of India in D.K. Basu VS State of West Bengal case where it observed that “the State must ensure that the various agencies deployed by it act within the bounds of the law and not become law unto themselves”.
The illegitimate raiding and subsequent harassment imposed by the BSF upon the woman victim Ms. Azifa (Name changed) Bibi is not only challenging their life and livelihood but also violating the Articles 19 & 21 of the Constitution of India. The incident also violates Article 3 (Right to life, liberty and security); Article 5 (Freedom from torture, cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment); Article 7 (Equality before law and equal protection of laws) and Article 8 (Right to effective remedy) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The present incident is also against the premises of Article 7 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Government of India ratified the said UN instrument. The perpetrator BSF personnel also violated the code of conduct for law enforcement officials adopted by UN General Assembly in 1979 which mandates that these officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons. The act of the perpetrator BSF personnel attracts section 441 (Criminal trespass) and section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of Indian Penal Code. The BSF personnel have also violated provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code that require for the presence of female officers while searching or arresting a woman. Police personnel of Dinhata Police Station refused to register the case of the above referred incident. This violates section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the apex court judgment in Lalita Kumari vs. State of U.P. & others (AIR 214 SC187) which makes it mandatory for them to lodge a FIR in cases of cognizable offences.
Hence I request your urgent intervention in this matter with the following demands:-
  • The BSF should be posted in the actual border and not inside villages.
  • The complaint lodged by the woman victim must be acknowledged and registered and legal action must be initiated against the perpetrator BSF personnel invoking the appropriate provisions and procedure of law
  • The BSF authority must be directed to protect the interest of the villagers.
  • BSF personnel engaged in whimsical raiding, threatening and harassing villagers should be show caused.
  • Take necessary steps to eradicate cattle smuggling in the border.
  • Perpetrator Border Security Force personnel should be held liable under the provision of Criminal trespass into the household of the victims.
  • The victims must be compensated for violation of her human rights.
  • Any other suitable direction as the Commission may deem fit and appropriate.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan  In a groundbreaking  study  spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.
Post a Comment
»

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram  India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.
Post a Comment
»

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra  Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today. 
Post a Comment
»

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.
59 comments
»

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.
Post a Comment
»

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah*  ​A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards . 
Post a Comment
»

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan    The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi). 
Post a Comment
»

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma*  The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.
Post a Comment
»

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...
Post a Comment
»