India: human rights lawyer severely beaten
Event- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Jan 24, 2023
- Event Description
About the Human Rights Defenders: Mr. Hansraj Kabir has been an advocate since 2012. He has been involved in human rights related work since 2002. He has been working for the rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Rajasthan. Since September 2021, he has been visiting villages on every Sunday to raise rights-based awareness and political and constitutional awareness among SC & ST communities. Background of the Incident: Mr. Vikas Kalawat is a local political functionary who works for Mr. Rajendra Singh Gudha, a member of Rajasthan’s Legislative Assembly and a minister in the Rajasthan government. In March 2022, Mr. Kalawat duped two Dalit sisters of their rightful ownership of a piece of land and had transferred the land to his name. The two sisters filed an FIR in this case in their local police station and Mr. Kalawat was charged under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, the police closed the case in a couple of months. The sisters approached Mr. Kabir to challenge the closure of the case in court. In September 2022, Mr. Kabir filed a petition with the Judicial Magistrate, Udaipurvati, challenging the police decision. The next hearing of the case was scheduled for February 17, 2023 Details of the Incident: On January 24, 2023, Mr. Kabir was at the Udaipurvati Court and had left the court premises to have lunch and tea. Between 2.10 pm and 2.20 pm, he received a series of phone calls from an unknown number. Each time, the person on the line asked him to urgently come to his seat in the court as they need some advice. Mr. Kabir said that he was drinking tea and would reach his seat shortly. When Mr. Kabir reached his seat, he saw there were around four or five persons, including a woman named Ms. Manju Devi, standing there. As soon as he greeted them, one person asked him to confirm his identity. Following this, Ms. Devi hit him first, and others joined in the assault and even tried to hit him on his private parts, and threatened to kill him.
A lawyer friend rushed to Mr. Kabir’s help and ushered him to the Sub-Divisional Office Court. At this stage, the HRD did not know who his assailants were and had never met them prior to this incident. The HRD was very shaken for nearly 30 minutes. He had nearly lost his hearing during the time and was very disoriented. He then went to the local community health centre, which was situated next to the court premises, and was accompanied by other advocate friends practicing at the court. At the clinic, the doctor recommended that he consults an ENT specialist. Mr. Kabir and his friends then went to the Udaipurvati police station. There he filed a complaint, which was registered as an FIR (0033) at 6.26 pm. The police charged Mr. Vikas Kalawat and Ms. Manju Devi under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntary hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. On January 25, 2023, Mr. Kabir visited the BDK Hospital at Jhunjhunu for a medical test, which showed that his left eardrum was ruptured due to the attack. He is undergoing treatment for the same. The attack on the HRD was pre-meditated and those who have attacked him should be charged under section 307 (attempt to murder). The assailants also issued death threats. Mr. Kalawat is a politically influential person in the region and carries considerable clout. Many of the HRD’s well-wishers have asked him to remain cautious and have advised him to take the public bus to work instead of his personal motorbike. It is important to note that on January 24, 2023, a cross FIR (0035) was registered against the HRD based on the complaint by Manju Devi, one of the assailants and accused in FIR 0033. The HRD has been charged under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntary hurt), section 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of women), and section 384 (extortion) — which is a non-bailable offence.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Violence (physical)
- Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- Right to work
- Freedom of expression
- HRD
- Lawyer
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Non-state
- Source
Case shared by FORUM-ASIA member People's Watch
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 27.73129490421262
Longitude: 75.47223679471311
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 24 January 2023, Hansraj Kabir, lawyer advocating for lower castes rights, was severely beaten by a group of unknown persons during a hearing in the court of Udaipurvati, India.