As reported by the Front Line Defenders, an off duty police officer brandishing a firearm, visited the office of Women’s Action for Development (WAD), a women’s rights organisation based in Imphal, Manipur and inquired about the whereabouts of its secretary, Sobita Mangsatabam. The same police officer had visited the WAD office on July 21 at around 8.30 pm, but failed to gain entry to the compound. It is believed that the threats against Sobita Mangsatabam and WAD are linked to their intervention in a DV complaint filed against the said police officer by his wife in June 2019.

The accused police officer entered the compound in civilian clothes, removed his pistol and surveyed the area for 15 minutes. However, the office was closed due to a ‘band’ declared in the city.

Sharma’s wife had filed a DV complaint against him in June 2019 and had alleged that there was a threat including death threat to her and her children. Since June, Mangsatabam and her staff had been in contact with the police officer and his family in an attempt to resolve the matter. However, as the threats escalated, on July 15 Mangsatabam and WAD supported the wife and children to leave the house and move to a temporary shelter.

It is significant to note that Mangsatabam’s daughter, Urikhimbam Thoibi, was also threatened on July 4 by a group of unidentified men traveling in a four-wheel who fired shots at her. Two other relatives including a minor were also attacked in the incident.

Laimayum Bishwanath Sharma, a serving officer of the Manipur Police, had been assigned as security to the local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sobita Mangsatabam has since been informed by the police that officer Sharma has been arrested and suspended from service with immediate effect in connection to the threats to her. The officer was produced before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Imphal East and released on bail.

Front Line Defenders, an organisation working for the protection of HRDs at risk, have issued a statement, appealing to the government for ensuring safety of Mangstabam and her family. The statement reads:

Front Line Defenders calls on the Indian government to:
1. Strongly condemn the threats against Sobita Mangsatabam, which appear to be linked to her legitimate human rights work;
2. Ensure that the officer involved in the incident on 24 July is being held accountable and carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the attack on Sobita Mangsatabam’s daughter on 4 July with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
3. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Sobita Mangsatabam and her family in consultation with them;
4. Guarantee all human rights defenders in Manipur and India a safe and enabling environment in which to carry out their peaceful work.
Sobita Mangsatabam is a human rights defender in Manipur who has been working for the rights of women and girls in Manipur for over two decades. Her organisation, WAD aims to promote and protect the rights of women and girls, especially survivors of violence, including sexual violence. She is also the Convenor of the District Women Committee (DWC) of United NGOs Mission Manipur (UNMM).

Related Articles:

1. Meet Sudha Bhardwaj: Lawyer and Trade Unionist accused of being an “Urban Naxal”
2. Human Rights Defender Teesta Setalvad targeted yet again
3. Petition To Release Iranian Human Rights Defender Nasrin Sotoudeh

The post Human rights defender Sobita Mangstabam threatened, accused police officer suspended, Manipur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Though they were unhurt, this incident highlights the level of intolerance right wing groups harbour against human rights activists and the depths to which these supremacists would sink in order to further their divisive agenda.

The post Activists singing Vande Matram called ‘anti-national’, attacked in Bihar! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Mohammad Arif   | Photo Credit: De21 Arif

Nuh, Haryana: What is being seen as a crackdown on human rights defenders, the police in Nuh, Haryana, raided human rights activist Mohammad Arif’s house in his absence on June 19.
 
Journalists and activists have written to Haryana CM ML Khattar seeking protection and safety for him and his family. “Abid Hussain, ASI, Mewat police, along with three other unidentified police officials barged into the house of Mohd. Arif Tain without a warrant or substantiated suspicion. They came at a time when only his mother, wife and children were at home. When the family asked the police to show a warrant, the same was denied to the family and they threatened the family. The police after entering the house without any warrant or court order, vandalized his property and made baseless accusations and unsubstantiated claims against Mohd. Arif, saying he was in possession of illegal arms, which have not been recovered,” the letter stated.
 
 The human rights activist has been fighting against lynchings and encounter killings in Mewat and is the first responder in most of these incidents. He is also the Haryana state co-ordinator of Aman Biradari, an organisation that works for human rights.
 
“Mr. Arif, claimed that he was away to Punahana to conduct fact-finding into encounter cases in the area, when the police reached his house in Tain village. Four policemen, led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Abid Hussain arrived around 8 p.m. in a PCR van and carried out a search operation,” He said in a report by The Hindu.
 
Mohd. Arif’s response
“Mr. Hussain directed the team to search for alleged illegal weapons hidden in the house, said Mr. Arif, who claimed that he got the information about the raid from a fellow villager and ex-Block Samiti member Subedar Khan. Mr. Arif said that the raid continued for around 15 minutes. “My wife, mother and daughter were at home at that time. When he [Mr. Khan] informed me about the raid over phone, I asked him to rush to the house and film it. However, it was all over by the time he reached,” he said in the report.
 
Mr. Arif has featured in the Limca Book of Records for setting up India’s first community radio-based consumer helpline. He held a protest against this raid on June 20 at Gandhi Park in Nuh along with friends and well-wishers, the report stated. He sought to know as to how a raid was conducted without a warrant and demanded action against the four policemen. He said that he had been honoured by the district administration on several occasions for social work.
 
“Mr. Arif said that it could be an attempt to mount pressure on him since he has been conducting fact-finding into alleged cases of encounters in Mewat, spread across Nuh, Mathura, Alwar and Bharatpur. He said there could be a larger conspiracy to arrest and eliminate him. “I have been conducting fact-finding into encounters into this region over the past decade. More than 50 people, all Muslims, have been killed in several encounters since 2007. In a few cases, the police did not even hand over the body to the families of the deceased,” said Mohd. Arif in the report.
 
SP (Nuh) Nazneen Bhasin said she was not aware of the matter and assured to look into it.
 
“Mohd. Arif is a frontline Human Rights defender and activist working with Aman Biradari where is providing socio-legal support to the families of lynching victims as well as those who lost their lives in police encounters. He has an impeccable human rights record working for the Mewat community on various issues including education of girl children, rural digital empowerment, entitlements and more recently raising the issue of lynching and alleged false encounters by police before various forums including Human Rights Commissions, police officials and the courts. It is feared that through these illegal means, attempts are being made to silence Mohd. Arif’s voice against lynchings and illegal encounters and also implicate him in false legal cases which could lead to criminal charges being filed against him, his incarceration and assault on his reputation,” the letter to CM Khattar stated.
 

The post Haryana police raids human rights activists house appeared first on SabrangIndia.