Report sent by Mr Santosh Samal, Dalit Foundation

RECLAIMING SELF-DIGNITY

On the night of 4 October 2005, five-year-old Astha* was kidnapped from her home, brutally raped and left for dead. Unable to find her, Astha’s mother raised an alarm, hearing which the culprit ran away. However, he left behind some of his clothes that helped the villagers to identify him instantly. As horrific as it sounds, this is not an isolated incident. Little Astha belongs to the Dalit community, while her perpetrator to the local dominant caste…

Around four in the morning, Astha’s father found her unconscious and bleeding heavily. She was immediately taken to the police station.  However, police personnel were extremely hostile and refused to lodge the family’s complaint. They just wrote a note to the doctors for her medical treatment. Astha was then taken to the Tehsil’s government hospital. The doctors present, informed her parents that her genitals were badly damaged and after providing initial first aid, advised them to go to the district head quarters. Doctors in the district hospital showed their helplessness and then she was referred to Ursula Horsemann Hospital (Kanpur), where she was admitted on 7^th October 2005.

The tragic incident took place at Mahjoli village of Rath tehsil in Hamirpur district of Bundelkhand area, Uttar Pradesh. The Bundelkhand region, in general, is known for its feudal and patriarchal set-up. One of the most backward regions of Uttar Pradesh, Untouchability and caste-based atrocities are highly prevalent in Bundelkhand. Majority of the landholdings in the village are concentrated in the hands of people from the dominant caste group. Out of about 100 households in the village, 26 belong to Dalit families. Astha’s father owns a small agricultural land holding (about 7 bigha) which he shares with two of his brothers. This landholding is insufficient to maintain three families. Hence, in order to meet their daily requirements, the whole family, including their young ones, work as labourers on the lands owned by the dominant caste people. 

The social status of women is very low in the region. The number of incidences of violence against women (rape, physical assault, dowry deaths) is simply staggering. The Dalit women, in particular, bear the brunt of caste, class and gender. Neither the local administration nor the village community is willing to take notice of such abuses. In case of physical and sexual assaults, it is the victim who is often ostracized from the society. The police in the area behave more like a feudal militia than upholders of law and justice. In addition, the police force usually comprises of men from the local dominant castes and is usually biased towards the perpetrators of caste atrocities.

This is clear from Astha’s case where the local police, from the very beginning, have been extremely hostile to the case. According to Astha’s father, on the day of incident the police refused to lodge his FIR and threw him out of the station. Six days later, the police dragged him back to the village thana (the local police station), while he was attending to Astha in the Kanpur hospital.  Astha’s father was forced to sign an FIR [(under 452/367 IPC and 3(1) 12 SC/ST atrocities (prevention) Act, 1989], dated 4^th October 2005. Every body in the village was aware of the culprit and there was lots of incriminating evidence as well. However, the police ignored all the evidence and refused to name the culprit in FIR and lodged it under “Unknown”.  But later, under duress, they finally named the culprit in the FIR, 22 days after the incident, on 26^th October 2005.  The callousness of the police in this case is simply shocking.

None of the villagers, belonging to the dominant caste groups, came in support of Astha’s family. On one hand, the family has been ostracized from the village for making the case public. On the other, the culprit is being protected and shielded by the villagers. In addition, the Dalit community is not supportive to Astha’s family, fearing backlash from the culprit and his family. Though some of them do provide little support in private, however they are not willing to show any kind of solidarity with the family in public. The result is that Astha and her family is live in perpetual fear. Six months after the incident, the culprit threatened the family with a gun. The whole village witnessed the incident, but no one came to their rescue. The next day Astha’s father was abused and thrown out of the police station when he went to report this incident. However, despite of all these ordeals, the family is determined to get justice for their little girl.

Presently Astha is back with her family, trying to gain some normalcy back in her life. She still gets nightmares about that fateful night. Every day is a challenge for this brave little girl. Since the incident, her tiny body has undergone multiple operations. However, she is recuperating and health wise is doing quite well. Following are the details of her operations:

• Ursula Horsemann Hospital , Kanpur  (7/10/05-17/10/05) by Dr A.N. Shukla

• Ursula Horsemann Hospital, Kanpur  ( 13/02/06-27/02/06) by Dr Nigam

• Ursula Horsemann Hospital, Kanpur  ( 07/04/06- 13/05/06)  by Dr Nigam

• King George Medical College, Lucknow ( 19/08/06-07/09/06) by Prof S.N. Kureel

• King George Medical College, Lucknow ( 20/10/06-13/11/06) by Prof. S.N. Kureel

Astha’s family is extremely poor and they have undergone a huge ordeal, generating resources for the medical and travel expenditure. This they have done through by partly raising loans, taking help from relatives. Astha has three siblings, two sisters and a brother. Her family is very keen to provide all of with them good education, but none of them are admitted in regular school. They are getting some education in a non-formal education centre. After this incident all his children’s education has suffered badly.

ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT 

Dalit Foundation became aware of Astha’s case in May 2006 and since then has been following the case through one of its fellows (Mr. Ram Autar Pankaj) and a Dalit woman activist (Ms Urmila) working in the region. Both of them provided the much needed support in getting medical facilities and applying pressure on the police administration to lodge an FIR. Dalit Foundation is in constant touch with these activists. In addition, one of the Young Professionals from Dalit Foundation, Mr Anoop Kumar, visited the family at their village to assess the current situation and needs of the family. He also helped in formulating a clear-cut rehabilitation plan for Astha and her family.

On 4th October 2006, Mr. Anoop Kumar together with a known Human Right Activist Mr. Muhammad Moosa met Astha’s lawyer. Following steps were taken:   

1. The FIR has been lodged under Crime no 222/05 Act 376 IPC and 3(1) 12 SC ST act. Since the nature of the crime is very grave there is a demand that 3(2) 5 of Sc ST Act should be imposed.

2. Under RTI application to superintended of police Hamirpur, the following have were demanded:

• One year progress report of the case

• The name of the officials dealing with the case & actions taken by them.

• Time period for arresting the culprit.

• Protection of victim’s family

 3. Under RTI application to district magistrate, Hamirpur, the following have been demanded:

• Under SC ST act whether district level monitoring and vigilance committee has been formed or not

• If yes then names of its members

• Last one year of its progress report

• If committee is not formed then who should be held responsible

• When this committee will be formed

On 20^th October 2006, the Superintendent of Police of Hamirpur replied to the RTI filed, providing details of the progress of the case and the role of the police. However, there still has been no response to the RTI filed with the district magistrate of Hamirpur.

Dalit Foundation is keen to facilitate the whole process of rehabilitation of the young rape victim. The foundation has committed to provide complete support to Astha and her family; this includes financial, legal and medical support. Dalit Foundation is also seeking proper legal support for the family.

A UP based organization, Dynamic Action Group has been a major support system for Astha and her family. The organization has helped the family in every possible way, from contributing financially to assisting in the medical and legal processes.

FOLLOW-UP:

Legal Aspects:

• Mr. Tanweer Ahmad Siddique, a senior lawyer at Allahabad High Court, has volunteered his services to Dalit Foundation to assist in Astha’s case. Mr. Siddique is being assisted by another lawyer, Mr. Devendra Kumar of Allahabad.

• Additional support for legal intervention is being provided by People’s Watch (Tamil Nadu)

Financial Aspects:         

• Astha’s total medical expenditure has amounted to Rs 60, 324 (There is a provision of Rs 2000 for additional expenses on medicines), from which The Dynamic Action Group contributed Rs 22,324 and The Dalit Foundation contributed Rs. 38, 000.

• The Dalit Foundation has contributed a sum of Rs. 5, 000 towards the legal expenses.

• Ambedkar Scholarships have collected an amount Rs 50,000, which has been transferred to Astha’s account. Astha’s father has been advised to put the money in an FD in Astha’s name.

• The Government of India has given Rs 25, 000 to Astha’s family as part of the compensation under the SC/ST Atrocities act. Her family has made a fix deposit of Rs 20,000 in the name of the child as a contingency matter.

Educational aspect:

• Given the social context of her family it will be better that whole family is relocated to another place of their choice so that the child should not suffer the prejudices of the villagers living there. However, since the family owns a small piece of land in the village, which is one of their main sources of livelihood, it is very difficult for them to relocate elsewhere.

• Navsarjan Trust (Ahmedabad) has agreed for Astha’s admission in one of the schools run by them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Nishant Lalwani (UK) for bringing Astha’s case to light.

We are grateful to the following individuals who have contributed towards Astha’s cause:

1. Ambedkar Scholarships

2. Ms Babita Verma (Bangalore)

3. Mr Vinay Gupta (Mumbai)

4. Ms Aruna Vadela (Bangalore)

5. Ms Vijaya Ghosh (Gurgaon)

6. Ms Usha Rai (New Delhi)

7. Ms Rimjhim Jain (Noida)

8. Mr Nitya Ranjan Pal (Gurgaon)

9. Fr. Ajay Singh (Kandhmal, Orissa)

10. Mr Prosun Sen (Unicef, Lucknow)

11. Ms. Rukmani Gopal (New Delhi)

12. Ms. Puja Awasthi (Lucknow)

13. Mr. Arun Kumar and Mrs. Gayatri Kumar (Belfast)

14. Mr. Anmol Virani (Bangalore)

Total amount generated is Rs.83, 000. We sincerely thank them for their support.

APPEAL

There is an urgent need to support the child and her family, given the stigma and ostracism they have faced following the tragic incident. We appeal to everyone to come forward and help Astha in reclaiming her life back. The donations can be made directly to her account number 15697 of Allahabad Bank (Branch - Mahjoli-Karagaon, Rath Tehsil, Hamirpur District, Uttar Pradesh).

WE SALUTE ASTHA AND HER FAMILY FOR SHOWING US WHAT TRUE COURAGE MEANS!!

Photos

Check issued for Rs.50,000

Little girl's father with Dalit Foundation employee while issuing check