Its such a shame!!!!!!! Even 3rd gender of our country are not safe!!! On 5 June, 2014, a group of kinnars including Nagma and Zoya had travelled from Mumbai to Ajmer Sharif for pilgrimage. When proceeding to the Dargah, Constable Bhawani Singh of the Dargah Police Station stopped their auto to demand a bribe from the auto driver. In the ensuing argument, the constable violently molested Nagma, and when her chelas came to her defense, all were promptly arrested on charges of 143, 332, 353 IPC, amounting to assaulting a public servant. The auto driver is the key witness in this case. Later, in custody in Dargah Police Station, all the kinnars except Nagma were violently assaulted. In the wee hours of 5th June, Nagma was subjected to gangrape by three policemen – Constable Bhawani Singh himself, Constable Laxmi Narayan, and a third policeman who claimed to be videographing the crime. One of the policewomen on duty who witnessed the crime, took Zoya to show her what was happening and urged her to rescue Nagma. Zoya is the key witness in the case of custodial gangrape. Later on the 5th morning, SHO Vijay Singh Choudhary extorted Rs 40,000 from Nagma and companions, with the promise of ensuring their bail in the assault case. They were produced in court against FIR No. 71/2014 dated 4/6, on the afternoon of 5th June, just as the court was closing, not given a chance to speak to the magistrate, and to their shock found themselves sent to jail on the assault charges. On being released on bail on 10th June, Nagma with great difficulty filed FIR No. 73/2014 dated 10/6 complaining about the custodial rape and extortion of Rs 40,000. As per procedure, she was sent for medical examination, which confirmed injuries. Her statement under Sec 164, CrPC was recorded on 12th June. To date, action has only been taken on the extortion charge, with SHO Vijay Singh Choudhary arrested and granted bail a few weeks later. He presently remains suspended. It was only following the intervention of PUCL Ajmer District, who took a delegation to meet the SP, held a rally in Ajmer and a press conference in Jaipur, and met the State Women’s Commission Chairperson and the Director General Police, that the case was taken away from Ajmer Police and handed over to the Rajasthan State Police Headquarters in Jaipur, under SP Tarique Alam. The culprit policemen were transferred out of Dargah Police Station, but remain posted in other stations in Ajmer, free to doctor evidence and intimidate witnesses. After the holy month of Ramzan, investigations resumed. Nagma and companions travelled to Ajmer in early August to give their statements and record their appearance in court on the assault charge. On August 10th, Zoya was violently assaulted by four men, including the auto driver who is the main police witness against Nagma, Zoya and companions and was later seen in the company of Ajmer police. Zoya was threatened and told that none of them should dare to come back to Ajmer, and to miss the further dates of the court hearings. An FIR was lodged after the attack but the initial investigation by Ajmer Police was once again prejudiced. Again, after PUCL protested, the Additional SP investigated the case and two people were arrested. But the auto driver has not been arrested and continues to roam freely, with the Ajmer police denying his role in the attack on Zoya. ******************************** ●Nagma* (name changed), survivor of custodial gang rap ●Zoya, key witness to the custodial gangrape, survivor of assault ●Kavita Srivastava, National Secretary, PUCL ●Lesley Esteves, Gautam Bhan, Voices Against 377 ●Kavita Krishnan, Secretary, AIPWA Voices Against 377, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), LGBT, human rights and women’s movement representatives demand. •Immediate arrest and suspension of the three policemen who committed custodial gang rape of a Kinnar (hijra) woman on 5th June, 2014 in the Dargah Police Station, Ajmer, Rajasthan •Immediate filing of the chargesheet and speedy trial •Immediate institution of the magisterial enquiry as mandated under CrPC 176(1) (4) in cases of custodial gang rape by police •Immediate filing of a case under 166(A) (b) IPC against the Ajmer policemen who conducted a prejudiced enquiry, and maliciously applied wrong sections in the FIR Condemn the life threatening attack by four men on Zoya, the key witness to the custodial rape, in Ajmer on 10th August, 2014. the Rajasthan state government should take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the complainant and all witnesses. Its shocking the completely dismissive attitude of Ajmer and Rajasthan Police towards the custodial gang rape of a kinnar (hijra) woman on 5th June, 2014. The callousness of the police is evident from the fact that they did not even apply the appropriate sections in the FIR, applying Sections 376 (2) B, G, 323, 406 and 511*, which made the rape case, an attempt to rape case and removed the police station from the picture, effectively making it a case of attempt of rape by public servant during communal and sectarian violence. The Ajmer Police have also booked Nagma and her companions on charges of assaulting a public servant, and have attempted to use this case to bargain with her to withdraw the charges of gang rape against them. The entire attitude of the Ajmer police has been that of denial and dismissing Nagma as a liar, imputing motives that she filed the rape case in order to get back at the policemen who booked her for assault. To date, the alleged rapists remain on duty in police stations in Ajmer and have conspired to attack the key witness Zoya. The police have also created an appalling narrative that kinnars cannot be raped when they are ever ready to “tear off their clothes” and be “available”. This shocking attitude reeks of treating kinnars as sub human, is condemned in the strongest terms The fact that though three months have passed, the District Collector, whose duty it was to write to the chief Judicial Magistrate that an enquiry under section 176(1) (A) CrPC was required to be conducted in this case of custodial rape, has not done so till date. This shows that the administration officials too, as with the SP and others in Ajmer Police, are taking the attitude that custodial gang rape did not occur and that the complainant is lying. Despite the enquiry being transferred to the Rajasthan Police Head Quarters in Jaipur, it has been three months and no conclusion to the investigation seems in sight. Due to this delay, Nagma and her companions, who are witnesses in the custodial gangrape case, are being intimidated and threatened. At a time when several states are acting upon the Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority vs UoI, April 2014, to set up transgender welfare boards and extend reservations to transgenders, the Rajasthan state government is moving in the opposite direction. The Rajasthan police is criminalising the existence of transgenders, and humiliating and torturing them with impunity, as the state government turns a blind eye. The entire system of governance and policing in Rajasthan remains prejudiced against transpersons. We call upon Chief Minister Rajasthan Smt Vasundhara Raje to urgently intervene and ensure immediate arrest of the accused, followed by charge sheet and speedy trial to ensure justice to Nagma, Zoya and their companions Below are a few Explanations of sections 166 A (a,b,c) IPC, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. (b) Whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys, to the prejudice of any person, any other direction of the law regulating the manner in which he shall conduct investigation into an offence or any other matter (2). IPC, CLAA 2013. Punishment for rape. (b) Whoever, being a public servant, commits rape on a woman in such public servant’s custody or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to such public servant; or (g) commits rape during communal or sectarian violence 323, IPC. Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt. 406, IPC. Punishment for criminal breach of trust. 511, IPC. Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment. 143, IPC. Unlawful assembly. 332, IPC. Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty. 353, IPC. Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:54:31 +0000
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