Christina Pyrtuh

Assam

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on February 23^rd, regarding the actions taken against Ms. Christina Pyrtuh and her family. Ms. Cristina Pyrtuh is a woman human rights defender from the Khasi community of the village Baikham Punji, under Kushiarkul Gaon Panchayat in Cachar district, Assam. In spite of her cardiac illness, she has been active is working on the issue of corruption and embezzlement of government funds by elected representatives and authorities in her village.

A huge corruption is allegedly going on in the implementation of different government schemes meant to be implemented by the Kushiarkul Gaon Panchayat Authorities The only road through which they communicate from the village is a kaccha road. This year Rs. 29,80,000/- has been sanctioned by the local Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from his MLA fund for construction of the road. According to Christina Pyrtuh there were allegations of gross corruption in the construction works of the said road sanctioned under the MLA fund. Villagers of Baikam Punji organized a meeting at 1618 No. Baikam Punji L.P.School on December 19, 2017. MLA Mr. Amar Chand Jain was present in the meeting. In the meeting, Ms.Cristiana Pyrtuh raised her voice against corruption allegedly committed by the GP president Bablu Das in collaboration with some of the local people - Dilip Pyrtuh, Jan-Mukhim, Daboymi Lamare, Sidwel Suchiang, and the village headman Drickson Shyllain in the implementation of different government projects in the Punji.

The accused persons got very angry and annoyed at the protesters including Mrs. Pyrtuh that they had complained to the MLA. They organized a meeting of their own in the village and asked the villagers to boycott and ostracize the protesters, Mrs. Pyrtuh in particular. Then one of the accused Daboimi Lamare who is a neighbor of Ms Pyrtuh started abusing her often after getting drunk. He asked her to leave the village otherwise he said he was going to make her life worse than hell by stopping the water connection to her house. Then on December 29, 2017 Ms. Pyrtuh saw that the pipe through which her family got water from the local water-reservoir was cut down. She complained to the villagers who suspected that the accused Daboymi Lamare did this as he had warned her. When asked he admitted that he did it indeed On January 1, 2018 two of the accused persons namely Daboy Lamare and Jan-mukhim again attacked Ms. Pyrtuh’s house, vandalized in the yards, abused the victim family with filthy languages and threatened them with death. The perpetrator Daboy Lamare threatened the WHRD that, “I will flee to Bangladesh after killing you with my Do-nala and fouling the graveyard with the venom of your dead body.” The whole night they remained near her house waiting for an opportunity to attack them. On January 2, 2018 Ms. Pyrtuh lodged a complaint to the police. Following the complaint, the police registered an FIR in Katigorah Police Station with Case No. 08/18 and on that night the police came and arrested two of the accused namely Diboymi Lamare and Dilip Pyrtuh. However, the victim saw that Diboymi came back home that night itself and Dilip got released on the very next day.

After coming back home the accused persons got more enraged and they started a vicious campaign against Ms. Pyrtuh. They went door to door trying to manipulate the villagers saying that she didn’t want the development of the village. Their campaign included attempt of her character assassination linking her with another person who also spoke out against them in the meeting. Shudiel Suchiang assaulted the WHRD in that meeting and also threatened her son Denyster Pyrtuh. Then on 5 January 2018 at about 7 P.M Jan Mukhim came with some of his accomplices whom the victim family could not recognize and pelted stones at the victim’s house. On 24 January 2018 the Investigation Officer of Gumrah Police Investigation Centre called her over the phone and asked her to go to the police station. She went there with her son Aryan at 1 PM in the noon but was asked to wait outside. She waited till 6 PM but none of the officers had enquired anything about the incident to her. She is a cardiac patient and as it was a cold weather she felt ill. And had serious breathing problems. The she was taken to a medical centre nearby in a serious condition and then she was then referred to the Silchar Medical College on the next day, but she opted to go to NEGRIMS in Shillong (Meghalaya) in view of threats to life and went there.

HRDA prayed for thorough investigation and to take immediate actions on the perpetrators of the case.