Investigation finds charge of rape established against doctor

The police in Assam have filed a charge-sheet in the court against a doctor for raping his patient. The charge-sheet under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 has been filed by the officer-in-charge of the Dholai police station (PS) on 13 March 2012 at the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in the district of Cachar after investigation of a case filed by a minor girl on 27 November, 2011.

This is disclosed recently by the district superintendent of police (SP) in Cachar in a report (vide No. G/SR/1281 dated 16/03/12) submitted to the Deputy Registrar of the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in response to a notice of the AHRC.

The report states that the survivor lodged a First Information Report (FIR) at Dholai PS inter alia alleging that on 27 November, 2011 at about 4 PM the complainant being accompanied by her sister in law (name withheld to protect identity) had been to the chamber of Dr Dilip Paul at Sadagram (Dholai Bazar) where he refused to check her up.

Instead, he asked her to be in his residential chamber for her check up and treatment. On her arrival at his residential chamber the accused doctor asked her to go inside while her sister in law was asked to wait outside. As soon as she entered the house, the accused doctor closed the door and window from the outside and forcibly raped her.

The AHRC issued a notice to the SP for a detailed report about the case after it registered a case of human rights violations (vide AHRC Case No. 302/2/11-12.) on the complaint filed by the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC).

The report of the SP, however, mentions that the medical test conducted after the investigation of the case started do not corroborate the allegations of the victim as well as those of the BHRPC against the doctor. It says that (1) evidence of recent sexual intercourse not detected, (II) evidence of violent mark not detected in her private parts and (III) her age is above 18 years and below 20 years.

The BHRC claimed that the victim/survivor is a minor girl studying in class IX.

However, on the examination of the witnesses of the complainant, witnesses of the accused and the place of occurrence the investigating police officer found that charge under section 376 of the IPC which provides punishment for rape is established, states the SP.

When the AHRC asked the BHRPC for its comments on the report of the SP the latter submitted a detailed response pointing out why the medical report can not be relied upon. According to the BHRPC the medical report can not be relied upon because (i) there was inordinate delay in conducting the test; (ii) the report goes against the circumstantial evidences; (iii) the report goes against the accounts of the witnesses as recorded by the police; and (iv) the element of sympathy of the doctors who conducted the test towards the doctor who is the alleged violator creeping in and vitiating the objectivity of the findings can not be ruled out as both of them are colleagues and belong to the same profession.

The BHRPC also said that the filing of charge-sheet by the police will facilitate the criminal court to conduct trial on the criminal aspect of case in order only to fix criminal liability and proportionate penal measure called for under the law. It is not the domain of the trial court to consider human rights liability of the violator and remedies to the victim/survivor. Therefore, it comes under the jurisdiction of the Commission to fix human rights liability and more importantly to provide redress to the victim/survivor in terms of adequate compensation.

The BHRPC in its submission urged the AHRC to recommend to the authorities to provide an adequate amount of compensation to the victim/survivor; and while fixing the quantum of the compensation the AHRC should take into consideration the aggravating factors involved in the case such as (a) that the alleged violator is a government servant paid from the state exchequer for acting as savoir for those who are in physical distress; (b) that the victim/survivor went to the alleged violator in full trust as his position demands; (c) that the alleged violator took benefit of position of custodian of the victim/survivors at the moment of commission of the violating acts; (d) that the case has a clear custodial angle; (e) that the age and social and other circumstances of the victim/survivor are such that the minor girl has had an entire life full of colours but which has been destroyed beyond repair for no faults of hers and her life has become an undesirable and unbearable burden on her fragile shoulders.

(This has also been published in the Newsblaze and is available at http://newsblaze.com/story/20120513124721lask.nb/topstory.html

Statement of BHRPC on the Risk of Impunity in a Rape Case

For Immediate Release

Date: 22 June, 2009

Statement of BHRPC on the Risk of Impunity in a Rape Case

Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC), a human rights organization working in Assam today wrote to the chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) soliciting her immediate intervention in a case of gang rape committed about two and a half year earlier in the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), Silchar, Assam on a minor girl.

Rustana Begum, daughter of a widow named Sunapakhi Bibi belonging to the poorest stratum of the society, resident of Kanchanpur Pt-I in the district of Hailakandi, Assam, aged about 15 years at the time of the incident, was gang-raped in the SMCH at about 5 pm on 2 February 2008 by two security guards on duty. Later in the night Mr. Shushantha Nath and Mr. Surendra Singh, the two in-charges of security at the SMCH on behalf of the Barak Security Agency, a private security agency providing security to the SMCH under a contract, threatened the victim, her mother and her relative Abdul Mannan with death and other dire consequences and asked them not to disclose the incident to anybody and not to inform the police.

However, after meeting BHRPC members Sunapakkhi Bibi, the mother of the victim lodged a complaint regarding the matter with the police, which was registered as First Information Report (FIR) vide. Silchar Police Station Case No 208.08 dated 6/02/08. The BHRPC also filed a complaint with the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which was registered vide AHRC Case No. 6649/2008.

The AHRC issued notice asking the authorities for a report regarding the case which was complied with eventually and the Superintendent of Police (SP), Cachar submitted his ‘Enquiry Report’ to the AHRC.

The report is mysteriously silent on the claims of the BHRPC made in the complaint on the basis of its fact finding report that: (i) Mr. Atul Das, a public servant working as ‘chowkidar’ (fourth grade employee) in the SMCH abetted the offence; (ii) Mr. M K Dey, the Superintendent, SMCH, and Mr. Sushanta Nath and Mr. Surendra Singh, both were in-charges of security of the SMCH on behalf of BSA, the private security firm and facilitated the act of rape by negligence in their duty; (iii) Mr. N U Laskar, In-Cachgre (I/C) of the Ghughoor Out Post, a police out post under Silchar Police Station, Mr. Ashok Saha, Officer-in-Charge (O/C) of Silchar Police Station, Mr. Satyen Gogoi, SP, Cachar (as he was then), Mr. Gautom Ganguly, the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate (DC/DM), Cachar violated the consequential rights to remedies and legal and psychological assistance.

Though the SP concedes in his report that “(a) prima facie case is well established against the FRI named accd. persons” but makes utterly false claims that ‘all possible attempts have been made to effect the arrest of the FIR named accused but both the accused are found absconding to evade the police arrest. No attempts have been made to arrest the accused. The accused are not absconding. There is no effort to arrest the accused by the police.

This fact alone speaks of the negligence of the police to bring the accused to justice and ensure that the victim gets her right to justice. More over, the AHRC also has not yet recommended to the Government any interim relief even after the police admitted that a prima facie case is established.

BHRPC thinks that there is a huge risk of impunity and defeat of justice and, therefore, urged the NCW to intervene in the case and ask the Government of Assam, inter alia: (i) to entrust the investigation of the case to the CB, CID, Assam Police; (ii) to conduct the trial in a fast track court; (iii) to grant adequate compensation to the victim.

Released by

Waliullah Ahmed Laskar

Information and Liaison Officer,

Barak Human Rights Protection Committee

--
W A Laskar
Freelance Reporter and Human Rights Activist
with Barak Human Rights Protection Committee,
http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com
15, Panjabari Road, Darandha, Six Mile,
Guwahati-781037, Assam, India
Cell: +919401134314