NHRC, NCW Take Note of Police Brutality on 3 Assam Women
Guwahati: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) have both taken cognisance of a report of alleged police brutality (including forced stripping of clothes) towards three Muslim sisters in Assam's Darrang district. One of the women allegedly suffered a miscarriage during an interrogation inside the police outpost.
The NHRC has sought a detailed report, including the present medical condition of the woman. The NCW has condemned the incident and urged stern action be taken against the police personnel.
The alleged incident happened on September 9 when the trio were picked up by sub-inspector Mahindra Sarma and taken to Burha police outpost in Darrang district. They were interrogated on the whereabouts of their brother Raful Ali who had allegedly eloped with a Hindu girl. On September 17 the sisters spoke of their alleged torture ordeal to local television channels. They revealed signs of torture on their bodies. According to them, both Sarma and Boro allegedly took turns in physically and verbally abusing them.
Details of torture
Their version was aired on primetime news. The sisters said they had been picked up from their home in Guwahati on the night of September 8. They also alleged that their family members were roughed up, firearms were brandished at them, that they were stripped, their private parts touched, that they were kicked with boots and beaten with sticks. The pregnant woman was allegedly kicked on the belly. All three were forced to sign on blank paper, they said.
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One of the sisters is disabled.
“We kept pleading them to stop. But they didn’t. Both Boro and Sarma kept questioning us on the whereabouts of our brother. We repeatedly told them we didn't know. They told us that a case of kidnapping was filed against our brother and so they had to pick us up. From Guwahati, we were taken to the Burha police outpost. It was sheer hell what we went through," said one of the sisters.
— NCW (@NCWIndia) September 18, 2019
"They were like beasts pouncing upon us one after the other. When they grew frustrated, we were stripped off our clothes. Then the real ordeal began. I kept saying please spare us as one of my sisters carried life in her belly. But it became worse. They told us we were lying about the pregnancy thing. And then she was kicked in her belly. She couldn’t contain it and knew that the baby was gone. She had to terminate it after we were let off. I couldn’t count the hours we spent but it seemed like an eternity. While we were let off Sarma warned us of dire consequences. A gun was pointed at us,” she added.
Policemen suspended
A day after the story was aired both Sarma and Boro were suspended. Assam DGP Kuladhar Saikia ordered the Darrang SP to conduct an inquiry. The women said in their television appearances that it was out of desperation to seek justice that they sought media’s help. The police complaint which they had filed on September 10 had allegedly "failed to get registered".
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Darrang SP Amrit Bhuyan told the media, “If in the course of the inquiry it is found that they used extra force on the women, a criminal case will be registered.”
Local students’ organisations like the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) have demanded that both Sarma and Boro be arrested. “Their brother was in a relationship with a Hindu girl and so his sisters were picked up. I met them and they told me that they were hit on their private parts. They are shaken and afraid,” said Abdur Rahman Biswas of AAMSU.
The NHRC which issued its statement on Wednesday said, “The contents of the media reports, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights. Notices have been issued to the chief secretary and the DGP, Assam for a detailed report on the matter within four weeks.”
Regarding the assault on 3 females at Burha OP, a case has been registered at Sipajahr PS vide C/no757/19. Investigation has been entrusted to a DSP level officer. Errant police personel have been suspended.DIG(CWR) has been directed by the Govt. to enquire into the matter.
— Darrang Police (@Darrang_Police) September 17, 2019
Conflicting narrative
On Wednesday the incident took a new turn when a local television news channel aired another report in which it alleged that Raful Ali was an already married man and had claimed to be a Hindu to woo a girl with whom he eloped. The channel also ‘interviewed’ the girl with her face covered. The girl also alleged that one of the sisters who had displayed ‘signs’ of torture was not a victim of police brutality but of domestic violence. The girl also said that the sisters were in cahoots with Raful in hiding her at their home in Guwahati.
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“I had seen black bruises on of one of the sisters. I had asked Raful what they were, and he told me that her husband beats her. It was two months ago when I met Raful on my way to college. He told me he was Hindu. His name sounds like a Hindu name. He courted me. Some days ago, he took me to Guwahati and I was kept at his sister’s place at Satgaon locality. On September 3 I was brought to his elder sister’s place. Then I was taken to another sister’s place. The entire family knew about my whereabouts. They kept me hidden as I was taken from one place to another. Raful is also involved in other immoral activities and shady businesses. He was married thrice and has a wife,” she said.
The incident has also divided Darrang district. On Wednesday the local Bajrang Dal unit carried out a protest rally and gave a love jihad angle to the incident calling for the arrest of Raful and hailing Mahindra Sarma as a hero. Local Bajrang Dal leaders said that a conspiracy has been hatched against Sarma.
Muslims bodies, meanwhile, called for his arrest.
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