A week after the alleged rape of a nun in a convent at Ranaghat in Nadia district of West Bengal, the police have made zero arrests, although 17 persons have been detained.
However, in their quest to nab the culprits, the police have been illegally detaining persons for more than 24 hours, human rights activists pointed out.
Despite having CCTV footage, which has identified four of the accused, the police still appear clueless about the men and their identity.
“It is a gross violation of human rights and the Code of Criminal Procedure to be detaining anyone for more than 24 hours and not producing him in court or letting him off. The police have not been able to produce a single person in court and have been arbitrarily detaining people from around the district,” vice president of human rights organisation Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) Tapas Chakraborty told The Hindu .
“Alarmingly, the security personnel of the convent were questioned only from yesterday [Saturday]. Why did the police delay questioning those who should have been interrogated first?” he wondered.
Despite repeated attempts, Nadia Superintendent of Police Arnab Ghosh could not be contacted for his comments.
The detains were a mere face saving exercise by the police in the midst of severe public and political pressure, said human rights activist Sujato Bhadra.
“No details are being furnished by the police regarding those detained. SP Arnab Ghosh has to address these concerns,” Mr. Bhadra said.
While the police remain tight-lipped about the total number of people detained so far, reports suggest that two Bangladeshi nationals have been detained, based on their alleged similarity with the sketches of those who barged into the convent in the early hours on March 14. Nadia shares its border with Bangladesh
Admitting that the police have been violating the rights of those detained, special secretary of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission Sujay Haldar said the commission had not yet received any letter or petition regarding the same.
The police have
not produced a single person in court and
are arbitrarily
detaining people
Tapas Chakraborty
