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  1. Signatures
    4,199 out of 5,000
    Petitioning
    1. Home Minister (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Home Minister (P Chidambaram)
      • Prime Minister of India (Dr Manmohan Singh)
      • Chief Minister Chhattisgarh (Mr Raman Singh)
      • Governor, Chhattisgarh (Shri. Shekhar Dutt)
  2. Created By
    Kamayani Bali-Mahabal
    Mumbai, India
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Soni Sori, a 35-year-old Adivasi school teacher in Chhattisgarh, has been languishing in  Raipur Jail since October 2011, she has written letters from jail asking the Nation to help her.

Why is she being tortured?

Soni has been tortured by the Chhattisgarh police - she complained that she was stripped naked and given electric shocks. A medical exam found small stones in her vagina and rectum.

The torture was under the supervision of Ankit Garg, Superintendent of Police. In a terrible twist of events he was given the President's Award on Republic Day.

Soni lives in Dantewada, a Naxalite stronghold. Last year, Soni fought with the Naxalites when they tried to stop her form hoisting the national flag on Independence Day.  Naxalites shot her father in the leg saying he was a police informer.  Yet the police first arrested her husband, and now Soni, for being Naxalite supporters!

Why do the police want her in jail?

Because she has constantly fought for her people’s rights - for minimum wages. She has taken on powerful companies that want the Adivasis’ land, and the Chhattisgarh government that supports these companies. She has taken on the police for their illegal activities.

Now, fed up of being in jail, far from her three young children, Sori has gone on hunger strike. In a letter to her lawyer she writes:  “We Adivasis are only fated to suffer atrocities and die. We Adivasis are a business for the government.’’

CAN WE ALLOW SONI SORI TO DIE IN JAIL?

Call Shekhar Dutt, Governor of Chattisgarh

0771-2331100

Ask him

1. What action is being taken against the police who tortured an undertrial

2. When will Soni Sori be released to get medical attention?

3. How will he ensure she does not get murdered in jail?

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Save Soni Sori and prosecute the culpable Chattisgarh police for her torture

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Shri. Shekhar Dutt.

----------------
Stop State Violence against Tribals

Respected Sir

I strongly condemn the custodial torture of Soni Sori and demand immediate prosecution of the culpable officials. The recently received medical report of Soni Sori, a Chattisgarh school-teacher, has revealed that two large stones were planted deep inside her vagina and another stone inside her rectum. On October 20th, 2011, the Supreme Court had ordered the government of Chhattisgarh to send Sori to NRS Medical College in the neighboring state of West Bengal for an independent medical examination, based on credible reports of her torture and sexual abuse by the Chhattisgarh police . Evidence of spinal injuries have also been found in the medical reports. These findings conclusively point to the fact that Sori was tortured while she was in the custody of the Chhattisgarh police.

The facts in the medical report are also consistent with a new letter from Soni Sori, now filed with the Supreme Court, where she has described the torture she endured under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Ankit Garg. She also communicated gruesome details of her prison torture to a relative and a friend who visited her in jail, who then conveyed the information to people in New Delhi assisting her with the case. The medical report, then, corroborates Sori’s allegations of intense sexual abuse and torture by the Chhattisgarh police.

In accordance with the 113th report of the Law Commission of India that suggested modifications to the India Evidence Act 1872, any injury sustained by a person in police custody can be presumed to be caused by the police unless proven otherwise. As evidenced by independent medical examination reports and Sori’s letters, the case meets the criteria for the presumption that specifically SP Ankit Garg and the police force under his command are responsible for her injuries.

I therefore demand that


Independently investigate the conduct of Chhattisgarh law enforcement officials in the Soni Sori case.

Ensure the provision of appropriate health care to Soni Sori without police interference.

Set up a high-level independent investigation team to look at the condition of women detainees and prisoners, including in the state of Chhattisgarh, to determine whether other women may have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, and whether women detainees and prisoners in general have adequate access to health care.

All politically motivated charges against Soni Sori be dropped and that she be released immediately.

To stop Harassment and intimidation of Soni Sori’s relatives cease immediately.


Sincerely,

[Your name]

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