Bhatta-Parsaul rape victim: 'He threatened to kill me, then misbehaved'
Pallavi Polanki Oct 10, 2011
Bhatta village, located in Western Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar
district, is still recovering from the violent police crackdown in May
of a farmer agitation that left four people dead. Image courtesy
Naresh Sharma
Bhatta-Parsaul, Uttar Pradesh: It was from here that Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi gave the battle-cry for mission 'reclaim Uttar Pradesh'
(UP) earlier this year. The two villages of Bhatta-Parsaul – in
Western UP's Gautam Budh Nagar district that witnessed a violent
police crackdown of a farmer agitation against Chief Minister
Mayawati's land acquisition policy – looks set to remain the centre of
political storm in the run up to the polls scheduled for early next
year.
The police action against farmers on 7 May 2011 that left four people
dead, including two policemen, caused a stir following allegations of
rape – first denied and then confirmed by women from the villages –
against police forces on the night of 7 May. The rape allegations were
first made by Rahul Gandhi, after he spoke to the villagers having
managed to sneak into Bhatta-Parsaul on a bike, slipping through the
tight security that had been deployed in the area to keep out the
media and politicians in the days that followed the police firing.
Last week, on 4 October, the National Commission of Scheduled Castes
(NCSC) issued an arrest warrant against the SSP (Senior Superintendent
of Police) of Gautam Budh Nagar, Jyoti Narayan, for failing to appear
before it on four successive dates to explain why no FIR had been
lodged by the police to investigate the rape charges. He is to be
presented on 25 October before the Commission.
In August, seven women from the village of Bhatta submitted affidavits
to the Commission alleging that they had been raped by the police
forces on the night of 7 May.
Explaining its jurisdiction in the matter, a Commission official,
Jagdish said, "The Commission also has powers regarding grievances of
OBCs. The women mostly belong to the OBCs."
Women were raped in Bhatta-Parsaul on the night of 7 May. Image
courtesy Naresh Sharma
On why the SSP is being summoned, the official said, "On receiving the
affidavits, the Commission sent an order to the police that the FIRs
be lodged. They responded by saying that the case had now been to
transferred to CB CID (Crime Branch Criminal Investigation
Department). The Commission wants to know what the CB CID is
investigating when cases haven't been registered by the police in the
first place."
When asked why no FIR had been lodged, SSP Jyoti Narayan, speaking to
Firstpost said, "The SC/ST Commission sent us affidavits of seven
ladies. Six of them alleged that police personnel, on the night of 7
May, came inside their house, misbehaved with them and raped them. The
affidavits have been transferred to the CB CID for verification and
further legal action."
He added that prior to receiving affidavits by the Commission, he had
received neither verbal nor written complaints of rape committed on
the night of 7 May.
"After I received the affidavits, I sent a lady officer to the
village. The ladies said they would not discuss the case with the
local police," said Jyoti Narayan who took over as SSP of Gautam Budh
Nagar one week after the police firing incident at Bhatta-Parsaul.
On an arrest warrant being issued against him, the SSP said, "I have
always obeyed the orders of SC/ST commission. As far as the warrant is
concerned, I have no official communication and I am waiting for the
order." The Commission's letter to the arrest of the SSP is addressed
to DGP (Director General Of Police) Brij Lal.
Jyoti Narayan took over as SSP of Gautam Budh Nagar one week after the
police firing incident at Bhatta-Parsaul. Image courtesy Naresh Sharma
Firstpost travelled to the village of Bhatta to speak to the women who
have alleged rape by the police personnel. Unwilling to speak in the
presence of male members of the family, when asked privately, the
three women who shared their story broke down.
"On the night of the police firing, the men fled the village. They
went into hiding for fear of being arrested. Only women and children,
and the elderly remained here. My two kids and I were in the room
upstairs. About 15-20 policemen entered house and ransacked it. One of
them came upstairs. I was hiding behind the door. He threatened to
kill me and then he misbehaved with me," said a young mother of two
children, aged five and three.
The police action on 7 May, has created a survival crisis in some
homes in the village. "All the four men in our house have been put in
jail. We have no food, no money," said an elderly woman. "On that
night, the police entered our house, trashed our things. Two of them
dragged the women inside, while two men stayed outside," she added
pointing to the two women seated in front of her. One of them said,
"We begged them with folded hands to spare us."
Some of the women allege they are under pressure to withdraw their
affidavits and that they have been questioned by the police about the
veracity of their claims.
According to the NCSC, women have submitted written complaints stating
that were threatened by the police after they had submitted the
affidavits.
On Friday (14 October), the chief minister is scheduled to visit the
district to inaugurate the Ambdekar Park. She is also expected to
visit the Gautam Budh University, two colleges and a specialty
hospital. While Bhatta-Parsaul may not figure in her itinerary, there
is no doubt that it is and will continue to be on her agenda.
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