Next door neighbour, a WB cop, threatens Dalit small business owner, files 'false' criminal case

By Kirity Roy*

This is about an incident of continuous threat, harassment, intimidation and subsequent false implication in a criminal case. The victims of continuous ill treatments belong to Malo, a scheduled caste community of West Bengal. They are father and son duo, Ganesh Halder, aged 70 years, and Pintu Halder, aged 35 years. Both are residents of village and post Puratan Bongaon, under Bongaon Police Station of 24 Parganas (North) district of West Bengal.

The perpetrators of these illegal and unjust acts are a serving police constable attached with the Bongaon police station and his wife, who are neighbours of the victims. The victims own a Ghani (oil extracting mill from mustard) and rice and flour huller in the locality. The perpetrators are living behind this mill with many others. The locality has many business establishments and shops.

Though the mill is running for more than 20 years, nobody opposed its function. All of a sudden, three months back, the police personnel started opposing the business activities of Ganesh Mondal. While he failed to gather sufficient support from neighbourhood, conniving with local police station and using his association with the police administration, he implicated Ganesh and Pintu Halder in a false criminal case vide Bongaon PS Case No 452/24 dated 08.05.2024 under sections 354(d)/ 506/509 of Indian Penal Code.

The business activity has permission from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, trade licence from Kalupur Gram Panchayat and no objections from the neighbours.

The offender started humiliating and threatening the victims in public places. The offender intimidated Ganesh and Pintu Mondal by saying that “at the time I am accompanying with the SP and Officer in Charge, I wish to see how your mill will run”. He even verbally abused Ganesh by naming and referring to his caste. The offender referred him by saying "you are fishermen, lower caste and despicable human beings."

The victims are under extreme mental trauma and distress caused by these verbal abuses, implication in a false case and imminent threat to his livelihood activities. They have made written complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Bongaon Police District, with similar complaints to the Sub Divisional Police Officer, Bongaon, and the Inspector in Charge of Bongaon Police Station. But no corrective measures have been taken.

The victims are under extreme mental trauma and distress caused by verbal abuses and implication in false case

In our fact finding, it was proved that the serving police constable attached with the Bongaon Police Station and his wife are trying to stop the mill by using his post at police station. We have also documented necessary papers obtained by the victim mill owner. Local neighbours also corroborated the fact.

These acts by a public servant attracts offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989’s section (viii) false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe'; secion (ix) giving false or frivolous information to any public servant and thereby causing such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe; and section (x), intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view.

The Director General of Police, West Bengal, has been requested to take immediate action against the offenders under above mentioned sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and make independent investigation on the false criminal case slapped against the victims, belong to Scheduled Caste community.

Further, the victims must be provided with adequate security and safety and their business activities must be duly protected.

---

*Secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM). This article is based on the author's representation to the the Director General and Inspector General of Police, West Bengal

Comments

Telangana government urged to stop 'unconstitutional' relocation of Chenchu tribes

By A Representative The Nallamalla forests are witnessing a renewed surge of indigenous resistance as the Chenchu adivasis , a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), have formally launched the Chenchu Solidarity Forum (CSF) on the eve of World Earth Day to combat what they describe as unlawful and forced relocation from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve .

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

'Fraudulent': Ex-civil servants urge President to halt Odisha tribal land dispossession

By A Representative A collective of 81 retired civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group has written to the President of India expressing alarm over what they describe as the wrongful dispossession of tribal lands in Odisha’s Rayagada district. The letter, dated April 19, 2026, highlights violent clashes in Kantamal village where police personnel reportedly injured over 70 tribal residents attempting to protect their community rights.

Dhandhuka violence: Gujarat minority group seeks judicial action, cites targeted arson

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has written to the Director General of Police seeking judicial action in connection with recent violence in Dhandhuka town of Ahmedabad district, alleging targeted attacks on properties belonging to members of the Muslim community following a fatal altercation between two bike riders on April 18.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Cracks in Gujarat model? Surat’s exodus reveals precarity behind prosperity claims

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The return of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, particularly from Gujarat, was inevitable. Gujarat has long been showcased as the epitome of “infrastructure” and the business-friendly Modi model. Yet, when governments become business-friendly, they require the poor to serve them—while keeping them precarious, unable to stabilize, demand fair wages, or assert their rights. The agenda is clear: workers must remain grateful for whatever crumbs the Seth ji offers.

The high price of unemployment: The human cost of the drug crisis in J&K

By Raqif Makhdoomi* Jammu and Kashmir is no longer merely at risk of a drug epidemic ; it is losing the fight. The statistics are staggering, with approximately 13.5 lakh people—nearly 8% of the total population—caught in the grip of substance abuse . In the ranking of Indian Union Territories , Jammu and Kashmir now sits at a grim top. We have officially reached a point where we can no longer speak in hypotheticals about a future crisis. The vocabulary has shifted from "if" to "if not addressed immediately."

India 'violating international law obligations' over Israel ties: UN rapporteur

By A Representative Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has alleged that India is “violating its obligations under international law” through its continued association with Israel, including defence ties and alleged arms exports during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Population as destiny: The dangerous logic of India's new delimitation move

By Jag Jivan Dr. Narasimha Reddy Donthi , a noted public policy expert and public interest campaigner, in a detailed critical analysis of two Bills introduced in Parliament in April 2026—the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026 , has warned that the twin bills "raise significant constitutional, political and methodological concerns — most critically, a structural inconsistency in the census basis used for Parliament versus State Assemblies, and an over-reliance on population as the sole parameter for delimitation."

Search This Blog