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(From top) Accused Bikash Bhuniya, Shaktipada Gayen, Saifuddin Gazi Asutosh Roy and Nakul Bera at the Haldia fast-track court on Saturday. Pictures by
Bishwarup Dutta
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Haldia, March 16: Their heads hanging low, five men in their late thirties and forties convicted for trafficking were paraded into Haldia Fast-Track Court-II and herded into a grilled enclosure.
“Kichhu bolar achhey (Do you have anything to say)?” asked the judge. “Ami nirdosh… khoma kore din (I am innocent, forgive me),” pleaded three of the accused while the other two replied with a stare.
Moments later, a landmark judgment was delivered — five traffickers, including two brothel owners from Haldia, were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a steeper-than-usual fine by Judge Somnath Chakrabarti.
In another notable development, the judge declared compensation sums of Rs 102,000 and Rs 112,000 for the victims in the two cases.
“A sentence like this through the fast-track court has given out a very strong signal that both the judiciary and the law-enforcement agencies are treating the issue of trafficking with the highest priority. The compensation aspect is to express concern for the victims while the sentence given to the offenders is expected to act as a huge deterrent and warning for all involved in this worst form of exploitation,” said Urmi Basu, anti-trafficking activist and founder-trustee of the Kalighat-based NGO New Light.
Lauding the compensation package offered to the victims, human rights advocate Tapas Kumar Bhanja said: “The compensation offered by courts or the human rights commission is usually between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000. I’m glad to see that the court has exercised its maximum power and granted this amount to the victims.”
The first case dates back to February 2009 when CID DSP Nirmal Bhattacharya raided Shaheb Hotel in Uttar Kashimnagar adjacent to NH41 and rescued four girls, including a minor. Brothel manager Asutosh Roy and six others were arrested and the hotel sealed.
Brothel owner Nakul Bera, who was absconding at that time, was arrested in 2011 in South 24-Parganas and convicted under IPC 376 (rape) and sections of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act.
Today, Bera and Roy were sentenced to 10 years in prison and handed fines of Rs 81,000 and Rs 31,000, respectively. They would have to undergo further imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.
The second case was reported in June 2010 when DSP Bhattacharya gheraoed another brothel called Jamai Thek at Mahishadal Market in Terapekhya and arrested Bikash Bhuniya, the brothel manager, and Saifuddin Gaji, one of the pimps, and recovered 12 girls, four of whom were minors.
In a few months, the owner of the brothel, Shaktipada Gayen aka Jamai, was arrested. Today, all three were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fines, failing which they would have to serve a longer tenure in prison.
One of the victims rescued from Hotel Saheb, now living independently, had said before the sentence: “I feel very happy because I have been hoping for his punishment since 2008.”
A survivor from the Jamai brothel said: “The man in jail has a very big chain of brothels. But if the law starts punishing these men and they get the most severe punishment, then this chain will start to break down.”
Biju Mathew, director of International Justice Mission, Calcutta, which helped in the rescue operation and offered legal and mental support to the witnesses, said: “Convicting traffickers and brothel owners and sentencing them to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment is rare, especially in the Haldia area. But the real victory is the story behind the convictions. Those involved in the case were competent and well-equipped. The court demonstrated sensitivity to trafficking victims. It is for this reason that justice prevailed in the court today. We hope these cases will set a precedent for all of India.”
The judgment comes in the wake of the Delhi gang rape, following which district courts in Bengal were instructed by the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and the Chief Justice of India to dispose of all women-related cases within four months.
Contrary to usual trafficking-related offences, where repeat offenders are sentenced to 10 years, rare ones or those involved in homicide get life imprisonment and first-time offenders get away with a lighter punishment of five to seven years in prison or are acquitted with a fine, the sentence by the Haldia fast-track court with strong focus on the years of imprisonment, compensation amount and speed of proceedings has come as a welcome sign.
“It shows that the judiciary is waking up. The court usually depends on the police and substantial evidence to make a judgment and cases often fall through the cracks because the police are hand in glove with the criminals or don’t have enough evidence. This is a fine example that the police have shown honesty and good evidence that has resulted in maximum punishment. This will make many conscious and I hope more such judgments are passed,” Bhanja said.
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