NHRC has taken up the cudgels to ensure women’s safety in the country, as it recently asked state governments as well as the Centre to submit SOP on women’s safety measures. It is proving to be a strong entity and nodal agency for human rights and is actively taking cognizance of issues, something that is expected of a body of its stature and standing. On the same lines, it has proceeded with an inquiry in a rape case in Sultanpur, which missed the public eye but a complaint from CJP will hopefully culminate into justice for the victim.

On October 1, CJP had filed a petition before the NHRC to bring to its notice the blatant inaction and alleged representation of false facts by the police in Sultanpur District, Uttar Pradesh. The petition emphasized that “the police, clearly failed to follow protocol in terms of primary investigation and on top of that are making false claims with respect to the post mortem and are representing false facts and the reason for the same is still unknown.”

Background

On September 10, villagers from Baijapur in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh woke up to the mutilated body of a young girl hung from a tree, not much unlike the Badaun rape case. The incident was also reminiscent of the Nirbhaya rape case given how a stick had been inserted in the victim’s private parts.

Though media reportage on the matter has ranged between nil to limited, CJP has been following the case ever since it came to light. Some examples of the possible instances of investigative lacunae up are as follows:

1. The police allegedly recorded an FIR attributing the information to the owner of the field where the body was discovered. However, the man later claimed in an interview to a local journalist that he was not the one to discover the body. He also said that he was not given a copy of the FIR.
2. The post mortem was allegedly not conducted within 24 hours of the body being discovered, leading to possible loss of key forensic information.
3. The post mortem found several serious injuries to the victim’s private parts including tears in her uterus, but these were not mentioned by the police in their public statement where they only limited themselves to talking about strangulation as the cause of death, purportedly to put a shroud over the brutality of the crime, limiting it to just a murder case, when clearly there was a grievous sexual assault that preceded the victim’s eventual death.
4. The police claimed that investigation was taking time as they were unable to identify the victim. However, the identity of the victim should never be a hurdle in conducting inquiries pertinent to the case.

The police investigations were proceeding at a snail’s pace in a case of such a heinous crime that needed a strong primary investigation in order to nab the culprits and also to identify the victim. Bu the lapses in procedure raised suspicions of deliberate delays and lapses and hence the NHRC was approached.

Status of the case

The case was registered by the NHRC on November 5 under Case No. 29482/24/70/2019WC. Action was taken on November 14 and an ‘Action Taken Report’ was called for by the Commission from the DGP (Director General of Police), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The Commission has given the DGP, Uttar Pradesh time till December 29, failing which the Commission will be constrained to invoke coercive process under section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act for personal appearance of concerned authorities. The next date of hearing is January 7, 2020.
 

Another petition

Closely related to this case, is the case of an eminent journalist in Sultanpur who was closely monitoring and reporting on the proceedings of this case and was eventually threatened by the Superintendent of Police (SP), Sultanpur for reporting on the police inaction. CJP approached the NHRC in this matter as well, the petition can be read here

Related:

Sultanpur rape case: CJP moves NHRC citing lacunae in police investigation
CJP petitions NHRC urging protection orders for eminent journalist, Dharmendra Mishra
Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
Over a fortnight, no arrests: Activists protest ‘police inaction’ in Sultanpur rape case: UP

The post Sultanpur Rape Case: NHRC pulls up Uttar Pradesh police for negligence appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the petition filed on November 29, CJP has detailed how the intimidation from administration and police –including threats to file false cases – arose after Mishra’s not only broke the story but pursued coverage of the Sultanpur rape case that took place in September 2019.

Dharmendra Mishra is a recognised journalist working with an established publishing house from their Uttar Pradesh office in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is known for unbiased and brave coverage of crucial stories that reveal corruption and injustice, and is the recipient of a national award from Indian Media Welfare Association along with an order by the World Health Organization. The government has initiated many inquiries on the basis of his investigative journalism.

As the application notes, due to his brave journalism, Mr. Mishra is being allegedly threatened by the Superintendent of Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh Himanshu Kumar. Mr. Mishra has stated that Kumar has threatened him on his way to work and had other people threaten him in his Sultanpur office. Dharmendra Mishra is also under the apprehension that Kumar has roped in a local politician and a local gangster to threaten him for his life. The said local politician had earlier pressurised Mr. Mishra to write positive news article about him during the state elections.

The journalist in question, Dharmendta Mishra has been harassed to the extent that in September, he has filed a complaint with the offices of the Prime Minister as well Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister explaining the facts of the case and the apprehension of threat to his life. In his complaints, he has said Himanshu Kumar, his department and the local Sultanpur administration should be held responsible for any untoward incidents that may occur in the future, such as an attack or assault on him or any imposition of false cases or even worse, his death.

In the NHRC petition, CJP has prayed that the Commission take suo motu cognisance of this case under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), conduct an investigation against the Superintendent of Sultanpur Himanshu Kumar and take stern action as probable under the PHRA.

On September 10, villagers from Baijapur in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh woke up to the mutilated body of a young girl hung from a tree, not much unlike the Badaun rape case. The incident was also reminiscent of the Nirbhaya rape case given how a stick had been inserted in the victim’s private parts. But even after all this time, police investigations have proceeded at a snail’s pace, with allegations of deliberate delays and procedural lapses. Then, CJP had moved the National Human Rights Commission to intervene in the matter to ensure justice. The NHRC has issued notice to the UP authorities following this complaint.

CJP’s petition emphasises that “the police, clearly failed to follow protocol in terms of primary investigation and on top of that are making false claims with respect to the post mortem and are representing false facts and the reason for the same is still unknown.” Our petition urges the National Human Rights Commission to “take suo motu cognisance of this case under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA)” and also seeks “an inquiry into this case involving the SP of Sultanpur District and the police personnel concerned with this case (FIR no. 0423 of 2019)”

The petition observes that the press is considered to be the fourth estate of a democracy. It quotes the Madras High Court in saying, “If the voice of the Fourth Estate is stifled in this manner, India will become a Nazi State and the hard labour of our freedom fighters and makers of our Constitution will go down the drain.”

Last year, India ranked 138 in the Freedom of Press Index released by Reporters with Borders. “Brave and investigative journalism can only thrive in a conducive environment that safeguards its freedom and where there is no constant threat to life,” the application states.

The petition memo to the NHRC may be read below.

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Sultanpur rape case: CJP moves NHRC citing lacunae in police investigation
Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
Over a fortnight, no arrests: Activists protest ‘police inaction’ in Sultanpur rape case: UP

The post Journalist threatened by police for reporting inaction in Sultanpur rape case: UP appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Navbharat Times

On September 10, a young woman was found hanging from a Eucalyptus tree in the fields of Kotwali Dehat, Baijapur, a village in the district of Sultanpur, UP. The victim was disrobed and looked brutally beaten up. A stick had been inserted in her private parts. The girl was discovered by locals who were out to work in their fields. The police were immediately alerted and today, almost 20 days after the incident, the police have gone on record to say that they have finally identified the body of the victim. This, we must remind you, had not been done by the police all this while.

A family from Dhammaur had apprised the police of their daughter having gone missing on July 1. But, according to official records, the police only registered the missing persons report on July 10. It is said that the family members identified the girl from her clothes, when in fact no clothes were found on her body at the time of the incident coming to light. No clothes had been found at the site of the incident too.

The police claims that the family had come forward and contacted them due to the picture of the victim being circulated on social media. The family accused four members of the Yadav family – DharmendraYadav, BrajeshYadav, his son Bharat Yadav and wife Rita Yadav for allegedly kidnapping the girl on July 1, when she was training at a computer center in the city. The police claim that after a thorough investigation that the girl was engaged in a love affair with DharmendraYadav. She had allegedly pressurized him for marriage and he, not being in favor of it, gruesomely murdered her.

While the police has been gung-ho about their so-called victory in this case, DainikJagran reporter Dharmendra Mishra, the first to disclose the incident and a close observer of the progress in the case has raised quite a few pertinent questions.

1. According to the police, the woman who was killed is a resident of Dhammaur. In this case, on July 10, the family filed a lawsuit against the accused at the police station. The family members had clearly written in the FIR that if the culprits were not caught, then the girl could meet with a fatal, cruel fate. According to the police, the same woman was killed on September 10 in Baijapur. If this is considered to be true, this revelation is a big failure of the police.
2. Why did the police not go after the accused named by the family since the two months of the report being filed? Why were no arrests made?
3. If the police had waited 72 hours for the post-mortem, why was there no effort made to seek out missing persons reports, if any, during the time and why was this family not called to identify the body?
4. If the family was called then, what were the reasons that the family couldn’t identify their daughter in those 20 days?
5. The victim was found completely disrobed, hung by a dupatta. How then, is the police claiming that the family identified the victim to be their daughter based on her clothes?
6. What measures did the police take to identify the victim while it waited 72 hours for the post-mortem?
7. After 9 days of the incident coming to light, was an appeal to identify the victim on social media made. Why did the police wait so long in such a sensitive matter?
8. Why did the family not come forward on seeing the reports in the newspaper or the TV when the incident was heavily covered in the local news? Would no grieving family think of contacting the police in such a case?
9. How is it that after 23 days there has been a sudden revelation of a family coming forward to identify the victim? What is the police hiding?
10. According to the claims of the police, if the accused stayed in the same area that they had kidnapped her from, why weren’t they traced and arrested?
11. According to the police, the accused are residents of a nearby village, Lambhua. Why would they then execute the crime in a nearby location seeing that they could get caught?
12. If the victim was found with multiple wounds all over her body, which is verified in the post mortem report, how then is the police claiming that there was no other crime other than strangulation?
13. Did the police find out what was the reason behind the crime? If they only wanted to kill her, why was her body mutilated so badly? Why were wounds around her private parts? How did her uterine wall tear? How can the police deny sexual harassment in this scenario?
14. Going by what the police says, the family came forward by themselves to identify the victim. This means the police has made no efforts in pursuing the case. What then is the police claiming victory for?

These questions beg to call one’s attention to the false claims of the police which they have spread to save face in front of the public and activist organizations. SP Himanshu Kumar, the investigating officer, must be able to answer these questions to prove the police’s contribution, if any, in this matter or accept the inefficiency of his efforts.

For now, the matter still remains in limbo with no arrests made.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) have filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding a proper investigation, bringing the victim one step closer to justice.

Related Articles:
Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
Over a fortnight, no arrests: Activists protest ‘police inaction’ in Sultanpur rape case: UP
SP, who has failed to investigate ‘Nirbhaya” like rape, receives appreciation letter from HQ: Sultanpur
 

The post Sultanpur Rape Case Update – Police engages in fake disclosure to avoid public backlash? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: PTI

Though media reportage on the matter has ranged between nil to limited, CJP has been following the case ever since it came to light. Some examples of the possible instances of investigative lacunae up are as follows:
1.       The police allegedly recorded an FIR attributing the information to the owner of the field where the body was discovered. However, the man later claimed in an interview to a local journalist that he was not the one to discover the body. He also said that he was not given a copy of the FIR.
2.       The post mortem was allegedly not conducted within 24 hours of the body being discovered, leading to possible loss of key forensic information.
3.       The post mortem found several serious injuries to the victim’s private parts including tears in her uterus, but these were not mentioned by the police in their public statement where they only limited themselves to talking about strangulation as the cause of death, purportedly to put a shroud over the brutality of the crime, limiting it to just a murder case, when clearly there was a grievous sexual assault that preceded the victim’s eventual death.
4.       The police claimed that investigation was taking time as they were unable to identify the victim. However, the identity of the victim should never be a hurdle in conducting inquiries pertinent to the case.

Reliefs sought in CJP’s petition
Our petition emphasises that “the police, clearly failed to follow protocol in terms of primary investigation and on top of that are making false claims with respect to the post mortem and are representing false facts and the reason for the same is still unknown.” Our petition urges the National Human Rights Commission to “take suo motu cognisance of this case under the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA)” and also seeks “an inquiry into this case involving the SP of Sultanpur District and the police personnel concerned with this case (FIR no. 0423 of 2019)”

With each passing day, as the perpetrators of this abominable crime roam free without being held accountable for their nefarious acts, hope of justice fades. But CJP believes that even when a victim dies, the law of the land shouldn’t. It is with this belief that we have moved NHRC.
The complete petition may be read here:

Related:
Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
Over a fortnight, no arrests: Activists protest ‘police inaction’ in Sultanpur rape case: UP
 

The post CJP moves NHRC in Sultanpur Rape Case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In what can only be defined as ‘mockery of law and order’, Sultanpur SP Himanshu Kumar received an ‘appreciation letter’ from the police headquarters in Uttar Pradesh. Himanshu Kumar is the investigating officer of the grievous rape and murder of a young girl in Sultanpur.

The mutilated body of the girl was found disrobed and hung from a tree in Dubepur’s Baijapur village in the early hours of September 10. Today, even after 20 days of the incident, the police have made no progress, neither in identifying the victim nor the suspects.

The SP and his team have been on record to say that the victim died of strangulation, whereas it is clear from the post-mortem report and the accounts of the villagers who saw her first, that the girl suffered from unspeakable torture and gendered violence at the hands of her perpetrators. Why the appreciation letter to someone who has been trying to cover up a crime akin to the Nirbhaya and Badaun incidents, is a very pertinent question.

Though the appreciation letter has been ostensibly sent for a different case, it has come at a very inappropriate time. From June 10 to September 15, there have been reports of 18 deaths, a dozen misdemeanours and robberies and a spate of orphaned dead bodies; crimes all of which have gone unsolved by SP Himanshu Kumar. The people of the district are reportedly furious with the failed and irresponsible policing in the area. To be “appreciated” from headquarters,  at such a time not only makes a mockery of the idea of the rule of law and “democracy”, but also undermines the women victims, bereft of justice at the hands of this failed policing.

This condemnable move will not be able to hide the intensity of the abuse suffered by the young girl. No matter how much the police tries to cover it up, the people will hold them accountable for every passing day lost in the investigation.

It is true that the criminals have shamed humanity by executing the Baijapur incident, but the police have even more so disgraced it by hiding the inhumanity of the crime and sparing the criminals of their actions.

Related Articles:
1. Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
2. Over a fortnight, no arrests: Activists protest ‘police inaction’ in Sultanpur rape case: UP
2. सुल्तानपुर के निर्भया कांड पर डी जी से मिलने पहुंचा महिला संगठन का प्रतिनिधि मंडल, नहीं मिले
 

The post SP, who has failed to investigate ‘Nirbhaya” like rape, receives appreciation letter from HQ: Sultanpur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

No arrests have yet been made in the heinous rape and murder of a girl in Sultanpur, UP. The body of the girl was found on September 10, grievously mutilated and hung from a tree in the Baijapur village of the district. The villagers out to weed the fields in the morning, witnessed the horrible image and immediately alerted the local police about the matter.

However, a fortnight later, no arrests have been made in the matter. The police have been tight-lipped about the incident since day one for the fear of the intensity of the crime causing a furore about the public. Furthermore, they have not even been able to identify the victim in all this time.

Though the police have kept its silence on the issue, the cause to deliver justice to the victim has been taken up by women and human rights organizations in the State.

On Thursday, members of the political party of CPI(M), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and the Student’s Federation of India (SFI) along with advocates and other activists, demanded a judicial enquiry in the matter along with the conviction of the negligent police officers investigating the case.

It is disappointing to see that the police have treated this matter with such flippancy what with delaying the post-mortem and losing crucial evidence.

Whether these protests will take steam and compel the police to speed up its probe and bring the offenders to book remains to be seen.

Related Articles:

1. Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?
2. सुल्तानपुरकेनिर्भयाकांडपरडीजीसेमिलनेपहुंचामहिलासंगठनकाप्रतिनिधिमंडल, नहींमिले
 
 

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