Two Border Security Personnel BSF jawans have allegedly raped and subsequently poured acid on a tribal woman belonging to Chakma community in a jungle at Silsury in Mizoram’s Mamit district along India-Bangladesh border on 16 July, according to the reports by Business Northeast.
A tribal woman, Dangubi Milebo Chakma (name changed) of Silsury Village was waylaid and gang raped allegedly by two BSF personnel from Silsury BOP, when she along with another Chakma tribal woman went to the forests to collect bamboo shoots. While Rangabi Chakma escaped and subsequently went missing, the two BSF personnel allegedly raped Dangubi Milebo Chakma.
The brutality of the incident did not stop at this, as the BSF personnel allegedly rubbed a cloth soaked in acid as the survivor resisted the attempts. She managed to reach her village and narrated her ordeal to the Village Council authority, who then immediately informed the police.
The villagers protested against the BSF in front of the Border Out Post of Silsury on 17 July and demanded that the accused be identified and handed over to the police.
The Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) from West Phaileng rushed to Silsury to investigate the case on 17 July. The survivor, in her statement to the SDPO, reportedly told that she was raped by two BSF personnel who then rubbed a cloth filled with acid on her face.
She was then taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, but her medical reports are yet to be disclosed.
The investigation is still being carried out by the Mizoram police, and on 22 July, the decomposed body of the missing Rangabi Chakma was found. It is not clear whether Rangabi Chakma had been sexually assaulted and her death resulted in the eradication of the only witness of the horrific case.
Both the incidents are being investigated by the Mizoram police and a case of murder has been registered with respect to the death of Rangabi Chakma. The BSF personnel from the border posts have been called and their photographs were taken.
The Logical Indian community severely condemns the entire episode and urges the concerned authorities to ensure proper investigation of the case. This is not a stray incident that has taken place in Mizoram or any other conflict zones in India where the BSF is set to maintain law and order of the situation. The gruesome murder of Felani Khatun on the Indo- Bangladesh border on 7 January 2011 had created a massive international stir and so had its appalling verdict that acquitted the BSF personnel accused in the case.
Mizoram has been victim to similar human right violations by the BSF where they have opened fire on innocents or have sexually harassed them. The Human Rights Watch in a 2010 report described the BSF as “Trigger Happy” after documenting the killing of about 1,000 people, both Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, in excessive use of force by the troops at West Bengal along the India-Bangladesh borders.
It is such atrocious actions by the gatekeepers of law and order that result in reinstating mistrust and fear in the minds of ordinary man.
