[Reader-list] protest against gangrape of a deaf and dumb woman by army in assam

[asit das]

ssb comes under union home ministry we should write protest letters to the
home minister dg ssb demanding stern action
asit

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 6:20 AM, Rajkamal Goswami <rajkamalgoswami at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Very very unfortunate incident, but as the first line points out, not
> new to the rural NE. However a not so pleasant personal experience
> comes to mind. I was doing my wildlife field work in Manas NP in 2008,
> which
> falls under BTC (Bodo Territorial Council). Field work used to stretch
> till late evening after which me, along with two of my field assistants
> and my driver, would take dinner in a small tea-stall and retire for
> the night. One particular night, it got late by the time we reached
> that eatery. On reaching there, we saw that 5-6 SSB jawans from the
> SSB camp in Bansbari, Baksa district, were boozing and having dinner
> there. Not used to seeing us there, one of the guys, who was already spent,
> barked at me regarding my whereabouts. On replying, another guy asked
> me to join them, to which I replied politely that I am a teetotaler.
> Somehow, my lifestyle choice didn't go too well with them and they
> started abusing me in choicest Assamese slang. On protest, one of them
> stood up, and told me to keep quiet otherwise he would just shoot me
> then and there and declare me a terrorist trying to cross over to
> Bhutan (Manas borders Bhutan, and hence the SSB camp). I stood there
> speechless not knowing what to do. Deciding against any further
> altercations as my dignity and self esteem were already considerable
> bruised, I decided to back off and went back to our field station. We
> carried on with our field work for the rest of the season (abt 3
> months) without further such incidents as we avoided going to  that
> shop if it got too late. Also the tea-stall owner told me that its a
> usual routine and they frequently man handled him and abused him if he
> refused to yield to their unfair demands. This incident, from the same
> landscape, just brought back that incident and jarred me. If there is
> any way I can do anything regarding such abuse of power please let me
> know. I will be more than willing to do my bit.
>
> Regards
> Rajkamal
>
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 6:27 PM, asit das <asit1917 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >  Gang Rape by Indian Army in front of husband at Indo-Bhutan border
> >
> > By- Correspondent | Date- September 12, 2011
> >
> > In a heinous incident, not new to the rural North East India, a woman
> from
> > rural Kokrajhar district near the Indo- Bhutan border was allegedly gang
> > raped by Jawans of SSB on the night of 10th September.
> >
> > As per reports, a deaf and dumb 35 year old woman Deobari Basumatary,
> wife
> > of Amal Basumatary was gang raped at night in front of her husband by the
> > SSB Jawans. The incident happened at village No.1 Sonapur under Bismuri
> > Police in the Kokrajhar district of Assam.
> >
> > According to Amal Basumatary, husband of the victim, a group of SSB
> Jawans
> > forcefully entered their house at around 11.30 pm, manhandled him and
> raped
> > his wife in front of him. Later they dragged her to a nearby place and
> > repeatedly raped her one after another.
> >
> > The victim, Deobari Basumatary, her husband and the villagers, including
> the
> > *Gaonbura*, came to Bismuri to file an FIR against the SSB Jawans on 11th
> > September.
> >
> > Noted human rights organization *Borosa Foundation for Peace, Democracy
> and
> > Human Rights *have taken up the matter and have made a complaint to the
> > National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) about the matter. In a press
> release
> > issued by the organization, they have stated that “these incidents have
> > exposed an ugly anti-people attitude of some rowdy and indiscipline
> Jawans
> > involved in the crimes who are otherwise deployed to help in protecting
> > lives and properties of the innocent people and maintain law and order in
> > the trouble torn region”. Condemning the incident, the organization
> stated
> > that these are clear examples of Human Rights violation and because no
> > appropriate actions was taken so far to punish the culprits involved in
> > previous incidents, the  crimes have been repeated again and again in the
> > district.
> >
> > Mentionable that some months back, one Manek Goyary of village Tharaibari
> of
> > Choraikola was also reportedly raped by six 15 Dogra regiment stationed
> at
> > Adabri on 20th April, 2011. An FIR was lodged at Kokrajhar police station
> > but to no effect.
> >
> > The incident has once again put a question mark over the functioning of
> the
> > Indian Army in the north eastern region and the Armed Forces Special
> Power
> > Act (AFSPA) which is active in the region in spite of stiff resentment by
> > the people of the region.
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>
>
> --
> Rajkamal
>