Please - Odhikar

perpetrators, you need evidence for that." Saying this, the SI raped her and told her, " Now you
will be able to prove that you were raped by those perpetrators." She further said that the SI
forbade her to tell this to Satish. Afterwards Satish got her admitted to the Rajshahi Medical
College Hospital. Satish further commented that the victim was not telling the exact facts in fear
of police because according to him, the police told the victim not to tell anybody about the exact
facts. He claimed that he himself could not stay at home in fear of the perpetrators.
Odhikar also talked to Azlus Beshra of the same village. He said that despite having four
children and a wife, he had developed a relation of love with the victim Sajuni. He fled with
Sajuni to another village at the end of March 2005. On 24 July, when he and Sajuni returned to
their own village, the villagers decided to set up an arbitration meeting with community leaders
for trial of their illicit relationship. In the evening of 25 July 2005 the village chief, Simon
Soren, and around 80/90 people of the village gave the verdict of beating them with cane 15
times each for their illicit relationship. The were both made bald and a fine of Taka 2000 (taka
1000 each) was imposed on them. However, it started raining at that time and the penalty of
imposing fine could not be settled. Mardi stayed at his home that night. He commented that
Sajuni was not raped on the night of 25 July because she stayed with him at his home. On their
failure to pay the fine, the arbitration sat again on 26 July and gave them 15 days time to pay the
fine.
The village chief and key accused of the case, Simon Soren, told Odhikar that according to
customary religion of the indigenous community, a married woman cannot mix with other men
when she is living with her husband and a married man cannot marry for the second time while
he has his first wife living with him. In this case, both Azjus Beshra and Sajuni Mardi
committed an offence by violating religious rules and as such they were sentenced through
community arbitration. He termed Sajuni as a woman of bad character. He further stated that on
the night of 25 July, the arbitration ended incomplete at around 2 am and Sajuni was sent to the
house of Azlus Beshra in the presence of around 60/70 villagers. He termed the allegation of
rape brought against him as false and commented that it had destroyed his image as village and
community leader. Among the villagers present in the village arbitration in the night of 25 July,
Johorlal, Anil Mardi, Patrick Soren, Benjamin and Suchitra termed Sajuni as characterless and
her illicit relationship with Azlus Beshra, who had already a wife and four children, was
shameful for the indigenous community. They agreed that she got angry at the village
arbitration/trial and filed false case of rape against the innocent village chief and others. They
pointed out that in the rape case filed, the time of the incident was mentioned as 1 pm while the
arbitration ended at 2 pm and it was incomplete.
Husband of the victim, Jogen Tudu told Odhikar that he used to live in his in laws house. He and
Sajuni had four children. His wife fled with his neighbour Azlus four months ago. For looking
after his children, he married for the second time two months ago. Sajuni told him to leave but
he continued to stay because as per customary rules of the indigenous community, as a husband
living in in-law house, he was entitled to get one pair of cattle, 12 maunds of rice and some
money from his wife if his wife told him to leave. However, Sajuni did not agree to give him
these things. On 25 July, the village arbitration was incomplete and that is why, he did not take
his wife back home. Sajuni spent the night with Azlus. Jogen termed his wife Sajuni as a liar and
characterless.
Report 2005
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