ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
22 November 2002
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UA-58-2002: Dalit woman tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people
INDIA: Caste-based discrimination; Case of assault, degrading treatment against
Dalits
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According to reliable sources, a Dalit woman in Kishanganj in the India state of
Bihar was tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people who wanted to
teach a lesson to her family for not giving away their claim over a piece of
land.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INCIDENT
Bharati Devi, a wife of Amarnath Das and a resident of Dharmgji in Kishanganj
District, was assaulted and paraded half-naked on Nov. 3, 2002, by people
annoyed with the couple over their long-standing dispute over a piece of land.
The Dalit woman has lodged a first information report (FIR) with the Kishanganj
police station against those who have beaten and publicly paraded her half-naked
in the community.
In her statement to the police, she complained that a group of about eight
people, including several women, forcibly broke into her room and assaulted her.
Afterwards, they grabbed her neck and dragged her outside, parading her
half-naked in public.
However, according to the information we have received, the district police have
not taken any action to arrest the perpetrators. Even worse, P. S. K. Sinahal,
the superintendent of police in Kishanganj District, denied that the woman was
paraded half-naked by a group of people. He said, "Her story is not at all
true. It is bullshit and concocted." He admitted though that the Dalit
couple was physically tortured and tormented.
The police have attributed Devi's assault to a long-standing and extremely
complicated land dispute between two groups which are involved in a string of
cases and countercases.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has continuously issued urgent appeals
and other actions about caste-based discrimination and degrading treatment
against Dalits in order to draw your attention to the problems that Dalits must
endure and to create international pressure on the government of India. We urge
you to maintain your support for our campaign to eliminate the world's worst
form of discrimination.