Fact-finding
Report on “Alleged cases of Child Sexual Abuse and
Plight of Child Rape Victims ” in Kondhamal
district
After media report about series of alleged
cases of Child Sexual Abuse in
different districts more
particularly in Kondhamal , a Fact-finding Team of Civil Society Groups had visited
Kondhamal on 20.1.19 to
understand ground realities and reasons
for reported so many cases , plight
of the family of the rape victims , role of police administration , justice rendered to the victims and functioning
of
monitoring bodies in the
district. The Team members are as
follows
a. Pradip
Pradhan, Human Rights Activist,
M-9937843482
b. Sudhir
Mohanty, advocate, M-9861063290
c. Ashok
Parida, Social Activist, Kondhamal, M- 9437112318
d. Mrs.
Mahepara Nikhat , Journalist , Cuttack, M-
8847800150
e. Madhumita
, Social Activist, Bhubaneswar, M- 9861395203
The
visit of the team was
limited to hear
directly from victims and their
family members about
their problems, sufferings and
harassment, if any from anybody and their struggle for justice. However, the team members interacted
with family of the
victims, villagers, police
personnel of Daringbadi Police station , social activists and some NGO functionaries working on woman and
child related issues in the district.
The details of four cases of child
sexual abuse and plight of child rape victims
enquired
by the team to understand the ground realities is as follows.
|
Name of the Block
|
Name of the village
|
Name of family members of the victims with whom the Team interacted
|
Place of Occurrence of incident
|
Date of Incidence
|
|
Tumudibandh
|
Kendupada of Mundigada GP
|
Sebati Nayak, Mother of the
rape victim whom the team met in District Hospital, Kondhamal, as victim was
undergoing treatment
|
Her Daughter
was raped in home in her absence
|
14.1.19
|
|
Phiringia
|
Kelapada
|
Chaturbhuja Digal,
father of rape victim
|
His daughter
was raped in his home in the
absence of the parents
|
7.5.16
|
|
Daringbadi
|
Dabedi of
Sonepur Gram panchayat
|
Joseph Digal , Father of rape victim and villagers
|
His daughter was
sexually abused by Aditya Prasad Rath, Head Master of
Daringbadi Govt. High School, Greenbadi
|
April , 2018
|
|
Daringbadi
|
Raibanja village
of Sriniketa GP
|
Swarnalata Pradhan ,
sister of the victim
and villagers
|
Her sister
was raped and gave birth a
child in Hostel of Daringbadi Govt. High School
|
13.1.19
|
Case No.1 (Daughter of Sebati Nayak, Kendupada
village)
During interaction with Sebati Nayak who was seen sitting beside her daughter undergoing
treatment in District Hospital,
She said
that she lived with her two
children. Her husband works as labourer in Kerala. on 14.1.19. while she
was washing her cloth nearby tube-well,
her daughter, aged 9 was playing in her yard. After she returned from tube-well, she could not see her
daughter and called her loudly and searched her. Then she noticed shoes of her
daughter in front of door of her neighbor Sri Surendra Nayak. She found the
door closed from inside. After a big push, the door got opened. She entered into the house and
found her daughter lying senseless on the
ground and Baina Nayak, aged 16
son of Surendra Nayak standing naked. After
few minutes, her daughter got
sense and said that
While she was playing, Baina Nayak
picked her up from back side and
carried her to his home and forcibly raped her. She slapped the boy and took her to the
house. She had heated exchange of dialogue with parents of that boy . Then they
locked her in her house from outside and did not allow her to come outside of
the house. After one day on 15.1.19, her father-in-law came and rescued her. Then they took her daughter in critical
condition to Tumudibandh Hospital for treatment. At hospital, the family
members of the rapist reached, disturbed her and threatened her not to file FIR
against them. However, the doctor treated the girl and advised her to take her
to Berhampur hospital. As it was
evening, she returned home and on the next day on 16.1.19, she filed FIR in
Tumudibandh Police station. The police persuaded her not to file the case. However, the police registered the case as PS Case No. 05/19
and arrested the boy. The police ensured admission of the girl in District
Hospital, Kondhamal. The Team
members noticed the
girl is undergoing
treatment in District Hospital
and getting recovered.
Still the family members of opposite party are
exerting pressure on her and threating
her of dire consequence , if she fails to withdraw the case. She is suffering from mental tension and not
free from threats.
Case No-2(Daughter of Chaturbhaj Digal, Kelapada village )
The Team members
met Chaturbhuja Digal and his daughter ( rape victim) in his house who is presently staying
in his relation’s house since last two years after leaving
his own village due to
constant threats, attack from
family members of the accused.
While interacting with him and his daughter, the team members noticed
his helplessness and fear-psychosis of his daughter. Chaturbhuja, father of two children is a poor
and daily wage labourer. On 7.5.16, while he
and his wife had gone
to forest for collection of firewood, their neighbor
Ballav Digal, married aged
25 finding her daughter
alone , entered her house and raped
her. She was class-IX student aged 14. This incident took place in the
morning. When they returned from forest, she told everything. Then he tried
to file FIR in the police station, the family members
of Ballav Digal threatened
and obstructed them from
going to the police station. However,
after 3 days, Baijayanti Digal, wife of
Chaturbhuja Digal gathered courage and
filed FIR on 10.5.16. against Ballav
Digal in Phiringia police station. The police
registered the case No. 56/16 under 376(2)(i)
of IPC and section 6 of POCSO
Act, 2012. Though reluctant at primary stage, the police later
on was forced to arrest the culprit and
sent him to jail. After that the
family members of culprit
became revengeful and
created a lot of
problem and continued
to harass family of chaturbhuja and his daughter in
various ways. They passed slang
comments to the girl on her way to school and threated to kidnap her. However, Chaturbhuja
and his family remained bold and stubborn.
At last they succeeded in influencing police and filed a false rape case against Chaturbhuja. Chaturbhuja alleged
that Dhiren Behera, IIC had taken huge money to file false FIR against him.
Getting support from the police this family continued to harass him and his
daughter. His arrest is the result of big deal of the police and accused family
members. On 18.9.16. the complainant
Smt. Panchamal Digal, wife of Ballav
Digal complained that on 17.9.2016. at 10 am while
she was alone in the house
and cooking food inside the house, Chaturbhuja
along with other entered
her house and outraged her
modesty. Though
aware it is a manufactured FIR, the police registered the case No. 114/16 but arrested Chaturbhuja on 27.11.16 and sent him to jail. The family
members of Ballav Digal continued to harass them and threatened to kidnap the girl. They got so vindictive that
they also did not allow her to appear the exam. She gathered
courage and met SP, Kondhamal on
19.9.16 , appraised him about
her problem and sought police support to appear the pre-test
exam. The SP provided two
homeguard to accompany her to
appear the exam. She successfully
appeared the exam, but continued
to suffer from humiliation as rape victim from the villagers
and also in the school. The
false rape case filed
against his father
and subsequent his
arrest on 27.11.16 kept her terribly
mentally disturbed. On 2.12.16, she
again wrote a letter to SP, Kondhamal seeking police support to appear the final
exam. At last being repeatedly harassed,
they left the village and stayed in neighbour’s house. The girl, i.e, rape
victim is now pursuing her
academic career as the +2 student and still suffering from
humiliation and mental agony.
Case No-3 (Daughter
of Joseph Sunamajhi, Dabedi village)
Dabedi village is around 17
kms away from Daringbadi block head quarter and 120 kms from district head
quarter. The Team visited this
village to meet
Joseph Sunamajhi whose daughter , aged 14 , 8th
class student of Daringbadi
High School was sexually molested
by Aditya Prasad Rath , Head Master
of the school. While
interacting with Joseph,
the team came to know that on 22.4.18, Sri Rath, Head Master of the school
called her daughter ( student) and attempted
to sexually assault her. However, she protested and escaped from
clutches of head master. She ran away to bus stand and came with sister –in-law
to her house. On 23.4.18. she returned to home and refused to go to
school. The family members could not understand
anything. However, after few days on 29.4.18, she told the parents how she was
sexually assaulted by Head Master. Then,
on 30.4.18., Joseph filed an FIR in Daringbadi police station against Head
Master and sought justice for her daughter. The police registered the case
No. 65/18 on 30.4.18 under section 354-A of IPC and POCSO Act. It is alleged by the family in the petition filed to SP, Kondhamal that the
police conspired to protect
the Head Master and did not
send the girl for medical examination.
The Head Master got opportunity
to get bail from High Court. During
interaction with the
Inspector-in-Charge and Inquiry
Officer of Daringbadi Police station, the team members were appraised that
the chargesheet is yet to be
filed against the Head Master. Being terribly mentally
disturbed, the girl refused to go to Daringbadi High school. Her father got
transfer certificate in the month of June, 2018 and made her admission in nearby Govt. High school, Sonepur.
Case No-4 (Daughter of Biswa Pradhan, Raibanja village)
This Raibanja village of
Sriniketa Gram Panchayat is
around 5 kms away
from Daringbadi Block. The Team visited
this village to meet
Biswa Pradhan , a tribal
whose daughter , aged 14, 8th
Class student delivered a baby
in the hostel of Daringbadi High School, Green badi on
12.1.19 . This incident had touched headline of all newspaper in the state. The
media had reported that the
headmistress of the school tried
to keep this incident secret and facilitated her with new born baby to leave
hostel in the night. The girl
spent the night in the forest in
chilly winter and her new born baby died. After this incident was publicly
exposed, an FIR was filed in Daringbadi police station by her father
Biswa Pradhan on 13.1.19. a boy who had
sexually assaulted was arrested by the police. The girl was undergoing treatment in the
Berhampur hospital.
The Team members could not
meet Biswa Pradhan, as he was away to forest
for collection of firewood. The Team met
Swarnalata Pradhan, elder sister of the victim and tried to know
the details of incident. She narrated same story as mentioned
above. After returning
from the village, the team visited
Daringbadi Police station, met
DSP who was present for
inquiry into the incident, Sri Alekh
Gardia, Inspector-in-Charge and Lady Inquiry
Officer . they appraised the
team about the incident as true
and a boy has been
arrested in connection with the
alleged sexual assault.
However, the Team members came
across another FIR
filed by Biswa Pradhan dated
19.1.18 . He has alleged that Smt.
Radharani Dalei, Head Master , Smt. Asharani Mishra, Assistant Superintendent,
Smt. Nakhetrabala sahu, Sri Mahesh Kumar Sahu, Asst. Teacher , District
Collector and District Welfare Officer with
support from Chief Minister and
Minister for SC and ST welfare
Dept. have conspired together
to suppress the incident and forced
my daughter to leave the
hostel with new-burn baby in the night to stay
in jungle to cover us the incident which resulted in death of new –burn baby . He alleged that great conspiracy of these people has murdered
the new-born baby. He has appealed to the
police to inquire into the matter and took legal action against them. The
police has just received it but not registered the case, as reported to the Team.
Analysis and Recommendation
1. The
above mentioned cases prove breakdown of the administration and failure of law
enforcing authority in tribal areas. The
innocent girls are not only raped but she and her family members suffer like anything and subject to
humiliation and unending harassment in
the society.
2. After Mass media reported series of cases of child sexual abuse and child rape cases
from various districts in the
state, the issue has cropped
up. The abovementioned child rape cases can be taken as case studies to
analyze the issues and various factors responsible for this
unfortunate incident. In almost all cases, the victims are
poor, belong to dalit and tribal
community. Due to poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and lack of social support
system, they are seen subjected to harassment, sexual abuse, humiliation in the
village.
3. The
Team noticed in all cases as reported by the family that
the police has not come to their rescue. Rather the police used
to try to cover up the case. All the family members of rape victims had
similar kind of complaint
against the police who
always discourage the people to file FIR or
exert pressure to withdraw the case and
influence them for amicably solution by bringing together perpetrator of the
crime and family of the victims.
When the matter is publicly
exposed by media or the family members
remained determined , the police is seen being forced
to register FIR and started inquiry. The police is also seen to have acted as instrument to harass the family members of poor rape victim. In Chaturbhuja case, the
police under influence
of the perpetrators of the
crime, masterminded to register false
FIR and
succeeded in putting behind
bar father
of rape victim.
4. As the
victim families are illiterate, they
could not write FIR. The police also did not help them write FIR. They took
the help of other people to for
writing FIR which is found sometimes of exaggeration of the
issues or does not reflect real
problems and suffering of the victims. It helped
the police to protect the
accused without investigating properly.
5. In
tribal schools, the girls are seen easily subjected
to sexual abuse, humiliation and
threats. The girls students
remain in hostels and
get isolated from the family
for years together. The girls hostels are badly
managed by the teachers. During
interaction with a social activist who said on the condition of anonymity that due to lack of parent’s love and
affection, the grown-up girl students are seen lured by the
teachers. Neither proper care nor
effective attention is given by the teachers
for betterment of the girl children
in the hostels. There is no effective monitoring of the hostels by the
authorities nor counseling imparted
to the girls. The officials in charge of monitoring of the schools hardly
make periodic visit or pay little attention to interact and understand the problem of the children during
their unusual visit.
Recommendation
1. The cases
of child sexual abuse or child rape should not be taken as ordinary case . These
are special cases and require special attention to address it. Whenever, FIR is filed in police station, the
police should promptly register the case and start investigation and follow due
legal procedure to give justice to the victim. The police
inaction and reluctance to register the case has become a matter of great
concern for which the accused got opportunity to avoid arrest and succeeded in getting bail. The victims suffer like
anything. Secondly, the police does not update
the complainant about the investigation and details of steps taken on
their FIR. The poor dalits or tribals could not
pursue their case which helped
the police to ignore
the investigation. So,
the clear direction
must be issued by the State Govt. to all police station to register
immediate the complaint
of cases of
child sexual abuse or rape cases
and take prompt action in order
to provide justice
to the victim.
2. As
the lack
of close monitoring
of tribal school hostels is one of the factors for
disastrous situation of the
hostels. It is recommended that The Govt. should
issue clear instruction to all
the concerned officers for
effective and timely monitoring of the hostels and report the same to appropriate authorities
for further course of action. The
Govt. must ensure for
citizen monitoring of all
the tribal schools engaging
retired Govt. officials,
judicial officers, social activists ,
academicians at district level. The citizens monitoring team
will make periodic
visit to tribal school randomly without
prior intimation to the school
authorities.
3. The statutory bodies
like Odisha State Commission
for Child Rights ( OSCPCR) and Child welfare Committee (CWC) of different
districts must be geared up and make
visit to tribal
hostels to monitor
it through closed door discussion with the girls.
4. There must be
first track court to hear the cases of
child rape victim in order to give quick justice to rape victim
Report prepared
by
Pradip Pradhan
Mahepara Niketa Madhusmita
M-9937843482
Date-22.1.19
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