RAPE
AND POLICE ABUSE OF HIJRA IN BANGALORE, INDIA: CALL FOR ACTION BY
SANGAMA
June 24, 2005
Right To Freedom From Discrimination
Right To Liberty And Security Of Person
Right To Freedom From Torture Or Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment
Right To Freedom From Arbitrary Arrest
Right To Equality Before The Law And Right To Be Free From Discrimination
Right To Freedom Of Expression
Right To Effective Remedy
SUMMARY
Kokila is a 21-year-old hijra (member of a traditional male-to-female
transsexual community in South Asia) living in Bangalore City. On
18 June 2004, she was raped by several men. However, when Kokila
attempted to seek redress by the police, she was arrested, verbally
harassed and tortured. Her gender identity was ridiculed and she
was forced to remain naked for many hours. Please join SANGAMA in
protesting the brutal and humiliating rape and torture of transgender
person Kokila in Bangalore, India and the discrimination to which
she was subject.
Join SANGAMA in demanding an immediate response to police abuse
against transgender people in Bangalore, India, thorough and impartial
investigations of all reported incidences of police abuse against
these groups, and sensitivity trainings for police regarding issues
of sexual orientation and expression and gender identity and expression.
With local coalitions, SANGAMA furthermore demands
1. Byappanahalli Police personnel (including Ashwat Narayana - PI,
Krishanappa - SI, Ramakrishna - Constable and Roshan Ali Khan -
Constable) involved in torture immediately be arrested and sent
to judicial custody
2. Byappanahalli Police personnel should be charged for offenses
under IPC Sections 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession
or to compel restoration of property), 342 (wrongful confinement),
348 (wrongful confinement to extort confession, or compel restoration
of property), 456 (lurking house trespass or house breaking by night)
and 461 (dishonestly breaking open receptacle containing property)
read with IPC 34
3. CBI should conduct an impartial enquiry in to the incidents
4. Hijras should be declared as women
5. Repeal Section 377 of the IPC and ITPA [Immoral Trafficking (Prevention)
Act], which criminalize sexuality minorities and sex-workers respectively
IGLHRC supports SANGAMA in asking for urgent letters of concern
demanding a full and impartial investigation of the torture and
humiliation of Kokila to be sent to the following persons:
1. Mr. Dharam Singh, Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka
2. Justice A. S. Anand, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission
3. Dr. Poornima Advani, Chairperson of National Commission for Women
4. Shri T. Madiyal, Director General and Inspector General of Police,
Karnataka
5. Shri S. Mariswamy, Commissioner of Police, Bangalore City
6. Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission
To the following email addresses: cm@kar.nic.in, chairnhrc@nic.in, member_secretary@ncw-india.org, dgpks@bgl.vsnl.net.in, copblore@rediffmail.com
Please send copies of correspondence to SANGAMA: E-mail: sangama@sangamaonline.org
Contact SANGAMA:
Mobile: 91 9844013413, Phone: 91 80 22868080/22868121, Fax: 91 80
22868161
Email: sangama@sangama.org, sangama@vsnl.net
Address: SANGAMA, Flat 13, 3rd Floor, \'Royal Park\' Apartments,
34 Park Road, Tasker Town, Bangalore - 560051, India.
MODEL LETTER
Dear Madam/Sir
We are shocked to hear of the brutal torture suffered by Kokila,
a Hijra, on 18th June 2004, at the hands of policemen of Byappanahalli
Police Station, Bangalore, India. The police took her into custody
when she was being raped that night by ten goondas near Old Madras
Road. Instead of providing support and relief to her, they carried
on the brutal assault at the Police Station.
This is not a stray incident but is part of ongoing police violence
against hijras. The level of violence has increased after hijras
and other sexuality minorities started protesting against police
brutality. The police are used to treating hijras as outcasts with
no rights. The police think that no hijra would dare to stand up
to them. Police routinely use hijras by falsely implicating them
in crimes. The vicious anger with which the police have reacted
to the hijras protesting against their torture is frightening.
We demand that the policemen implicated, Ashwat Narayana (PI), Krishanappa
(SI), Ramakrishna (Constable) and Roshan Ali Khan (Constable) be
immediately arrested and sent to judicial custody. We also demand
an impartial CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) enquiry into
the whole incidence. Only such strong measures will send the message
down that human rights violations will not be tolerated any longer.
We reiterate that notions of different rights for different sets
of people, and discrimination by the police against hijras and various
other minority groups/communities can have no place in a civilized
democracy that India claim to be.
Sincerely
[Name, organization, address]
BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY SANGAMA
Kokila, a 21-year-old hijra (member of a traditional male-to-female
transsexual community in South Asia), has been living in Bangalore
City for the last 5 years. She survives by doing sex-work, the only
option available to most hijras.
On 18th June, 2004 (Friday), around 8 p.m., while she was waiting
for clients, she was raped by 10 goondas (all male) who forcefully
took her to the grounds next to Old Madras Road. They threatened
to kill her if she wouldn\'t have sex with them. She was forced
to have oral and anal sex with all of them. While she was being
sexually assaulted, two policemen arrived. Most of the goondas ran
away from the scene but the police caught two. Kokila told the police
about the sexual assault by the goondas. Instead of registering
a case against the goondas and sending Kokila for medical examination,
they harassed her with offensive language and took her along with
the two captured goondas to the Byappanahalli Police Station. The
police disallowed Kokila to put-on her trousers and forced her to
be naked for the next 7 hours.
In the Police Station Kokila was subjected to brutal torture. They
took her to a room inside the Police Station, stripped her naked
and handcuffed her hands to a window. Six policemen, allegedly drunk,
hit her with lathis and their hands and kicked her with their boots.
They abused her using sexually violent language, including the statements:
\"ninna ammane keyya\" (we will fuck your mother), \"ninna
akkane keyya\" (we will fuck your sister), \"khoja\"
(derogatory word used against transgenders) and \"gandu\"
(one who gets penetrated anally, a derogatory word). She suffered
severe injuries on her hands, palms, buttocks, shoulder and legs.
The police also burned her nipples and chapdi (vaginal portion of
hijras) with a burning coir rope. One policeman of the rank of SI
(Sub Inspector of Police) positioned his rifle on her chapdi and
threatened to shoot her. He also tried pushing the rifle butt and
lathi into the chapdi and saying, \"Do you have a vagina, can
this go inside?\" !
while other policemen were laughing. This is to humiliate a transsexual
woman by insisting that she is not a woman, as she was not born
with a vagina.
At around 11 p.m. PI (Inspector of Police, highest-ranking Police
Official of that Police Station) arrived into the room. He directed
the policemen to continue the torture. The torture continued till
1 a.m. in the night. Despite begging for water she was not given
any water. The police tied her up and the Inspector of Police threatened
to leave her on the railway track unless she confessed to the knowledge
of the robbery of a diamond ring and a bracelet. They paid no attention
to her pleading that she had no knowledge of the robbery, or the
person they were trying to get to implicate in the robbery.
At 1 a.m., four policemen (including PI and SI) dragged Kokila into
a police jeep and took her to a hamam (bathhouse run by hijras)
in Krishnarajapuram area. They physically abused her and forced
her to knock on the hamam door and call the hijras living there
to open the door. At around 2 a.m., they took her to another hamam
in Garudacharapalya area. They broke open the lock of that hamam.
They forced her to wear male clothes (shirt and trouser). They tied
a towel to her head and threatened to shave off her hair. Police
also searched both the hamams illegally.
At around 3 a.m., while on the way, Kokila begged the Police to
take her to the house of Chandini (a hijra human rights activist)
who lived nearby. The police entered Chandini\'s house forcefully
and searched the entire house despite severe protests by Chandini.
Chandini told the policemen that they couldn\'t enter her house
at such hours and without any valid reason and her consent. When
she protested, the police threatened her and her husband with dire
consequences. Finally, on Chandani\'s demand that Kokila be left
behind, and her assurance that she would bring Kokila to the Police
Station in the morning if her presence were required, the police
left her residence at 3.30 am.
Kokila\'s complaint was registered in Ulsoor Police Station on 19th
June 2004. The complaint was registered only after legal intervention
and after putting a lot of pressure on various high-ranking Police
Officials of Bangalore City for three hours. The IPC (Indian Penal
Code) Sections in the FIR (First Information Report) are 506 (criminal
intimidation - threat to cause death or grievous hurt), 377 (unnatural
sexual intercourse), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke
breach of peace), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons
or means) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of
common intention). Kokila has already identified four policemen
who tortured her. She has also identified five goondas, who sexually
assaulted her.
These are not stray incidents but are part of ongoing police violence
against hijras. The level of violence has increased after hijras;
other sexuality minorities and sex-workers started protesting against
police brutality.
