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WORLD  Comment on this story Human Rights In India BY YASHODA BENEDICT INDIA, Mar 28 (VNN) — What follows is a letter written by the wife and children of Mr. William Benedict appealing for the release of their father/husband after being falsely imprisoned and charged with the rape of a six year old girl. To this day, since his arrest in Augustof last year, Mr. Benedict, aka Bhakta das, has been denied bail and has not even been charged in the case! Yet he remains imprisoned in a country touted as the worlds largest democracy thatis, at least officially, an adherent to the United Nations Human Rights Charter. Sadly, theacts of India's government speak volumes of what the actual situation is. Perhaps it would be wise to advise potential tourists to this country of the potential danger of traveling where human rights exist only on paper and not in practice. Please take a moment to read this letter and consider this poor man's plight. Is there anything you can do to help? December 6, 2000 Respected Sir, I, the wife are appealing to your good-self to look into the case of my husband and the father of six children who has been falsely implicated in a rape case. The following narration will reveal a most shocking tale of how an innocent man is implicated by the police when every detailed fact reveals his innocence and every allegation is negated by medical evidence. Background A well to do Industrialist My husband Shri William Benedict George known as Bhakta Das is an industrialist by vocation. My husband set up Balarama's Enterprises, Inc. in California, which has grown into a Mega Industrial unit at Thailand with an annual turn over of almost US $ 4 million and 300 employees working in the Unit. . My husband wanted to shift his incense-making factory (Balarama's Enterprises (Thailand) Co.Ltd.), which produces 3 metric tones of agarbatti daily. His ultimate goal being a devotee of Lord Jagannatha was to shift to Puri both his family and his business. Full family shifts to Puri My husband, myself, and three of our children moved to Puri on April 30, 2000. Just when we were settling down we got this jolt of a blatantly fabricated case against my husband. Adoption of Hinduism Religious Background William Benedict George @ Bhakta Das, in the year 1969 became the disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He adopted Hinduism and adopted the name Bhakta Dasa. My husband helped set up the first Krishna Temple in the year 1970 in his hometown San Diego, California, USA. In the year 1974 he was made the President of San Francisco, California Iskcon Center known as New Jagannath Puri. It was his devotion, which led him to contribute Rs. 1 crore for the construction of a temple for Lord Chaitanya in Sridham Mayapur near to the Yogapitha of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and led him to generously contribute both his time and money to the faith he acquired in 1969. Maria Schmidova lodges a written complaint on 29.6.2000 of rape and molestation of her daughter Bhakta Das name does not find mention. Maria Schmidova is an Austrian or Slovakian National whose antecedents are not known. She claimed that she came to Puri to marry one Ashok Sahoo who she thought would make a good husband and a father for her 6-year-old daughter. She was living with Ashok Sahoo who was her lover and who is supposed to have promised to marry her. On 29.6.2000 Maria Schmidova lodged a 48 pagehand-written complaint in German, translated and typed into seventeen pages in English, at Sea Beach Police Station. The first 45 pages of the complaint contain her ravings and rantings against her lover Ashok Sahoo who had jilted her. The reading of the statement itself shows that Maria wanted wreak revenge on and implicate her former lover Ashok Sahu. In fact, Maria Schmidova does not mention this heinous crime committed against her daughter for the first 14 of the pages of then English version of her statement. The major portion of her statement is her pursuit of Ashok Sahu, their lover's tiffs, their misunderstandings and finally the breaking up their relationship. The statement itself reveals that the person making the statement is unstable on account of her lover deserting her. At page 15 she had leveled allegations against her lover Ashok Sahu, one Mayapur Chandra, and one Babu who she alleged did the following things to her daughter Tulasi which is reproduced in her own words. i) Mayapur Chandra and Ashok Sahu cut her private part and her back with a long stick. ii) Then they drank her blood. iii) Mayapur Chandra has thrown fire on Tulasi's body. iv) They put a thick long stone in Tulasi's mouth. v) They mounted on the body of Tulasi. vi) They had hit Tulasi with a belt and all the men pushed thick black stone into Tulasi's vagina. vii) They hit hard at Tulasi's forehead. The conduct of the mother is even stranger. She leaves her molested daughter unprotected to go to a Police Station in the later part of the night. Bhakta Das not mentioned There is no mention of Bhakta Das, my husband anywhere in the 17 pages of the complaint. There is no mention of Bhakta Das' name in the complaint. There is not a single allegation against Bhakta Das, nor his name mentioned even though both mother and daughter claim they are familiar with Bhakta Das as being a prominent member of the Krishna devotional fraternity. Bhakta Das and his family were celebrating Ekadasi In fact, the night 28/29.6.2000 was Ekadasi and Bhakta Das, his wife Waeo Benedict, their children Vrinda Devi, Nityananda Rama and Lalita Shyama and their maid servant Pensri were performing Samkirtan at Sri Chaitanya Chandra Ashram along with other devotees. In fact an affidavit of Shri Bhakti Vichar Bhishnu Maharaja was filed with the authorities confirming this fact. There are several witnesses who saw Bhakta Das and his family members. Medical report of District Head Quarters Hospital, Puri negates Maria's fantastic claims. The same evening (June 29) Tulasi was sent for medical examination to the District Head Quarters Hospital Puri. Their findings were as follows: a) No evidence of rape and hymen is intact. b) No spermatozoa living or dead. c) No foreign body detected on or around the private parts. d) Some marks/bruises probably suggesting attempts at sexual intercourse. Second Medical Report of SCB Medical College dated 15.7.2000 further negates Maria's statement. Tulasi was thereafter sent for further examination at Cuttack S.C.B. Medical College Hospital. A team of doctors on examining came to the following conclusion. a) No discharge or bleeding of vagina. b) No injury detected on any part of body surface. c) No staining and no foreign hair could be detected on genital examination. d) No medical evidence of attempted sex act. e) However basing on the first medical report, the possibility of attempted sex act could not be ruled out. Medical evidence, thus clearly failed to conclude that there was a rape, or attempt to rape, any genital contact, absence of spermatozoa and hair. The violent and gruesome acts performed on the girl Tulasi as alleged by S, Maria appears to be hallucinatory and finds no support from the medical examination by two sets of doctors. Bhakta Das goes to Thailand To wind up his business interests To settle in Puri It is important to note that Bhakta Das was not arrested or questioned by the Police. In fact in the meanwhile, he attended his company's meeting in Thailand for winding up the affairs of the company there. As stated earlier Bhakta Das had made Puri his home and wanted to relocate his business in Puri or another place in Orissa. Bhakta Das reached back and began his efforts to resettle himself and his family in Puri. Bhakta Das arrested on 21.8.2000 after Almost 2 months on Maria Concocting a new story On July 3, 2000, Rathayatra Day, The Inspector of Police, Sea Beach P.S. Puri, Shri P.K. Jally alongwith Maria reached the residence of Bhakta Das called ÔSweet Home' at Chakratirtha Road at 15:30. According to Shri P.K. Jally on reaching Maria is alleged to have shouted in a loud voice This person sexed my daughter along with Mandali Bhadra, Mayapur Chandra and Ashok Sahoo and asked Inspector Jally to arrest Bhakta Das. Inspector Jally did not arrest Bhakta dasa at this time. He asked Bhakta das to come to the station and make a statement later in the evening. Bhakta dasa went to the station at 19:00, but Inspector Jally was too busy and asked Bhakta dasa to come back the following morning. Bhakta dasa again went to the Sea Beach Station on July 4 morning, and Inspector Jally again said he had no time, and would call Bhakta dasa if he was needed. He never made any call. And subsequently on 21.8.2000 he is arrested. Maria it must be remembered is not an eyewitness to what allegedly happened to her daughter on 28/29th June 2000. It is strange that she chooses to implicate him several days after she filed her complaint. It is also important to note that Tulasi did not identify Bhakta Das in an identification Parade. It is important to remember Bhakta Das is an important member of the Krishna Conscious Community at Puri. Both S.Maria and her daughter had known of Bhakta Das. Then why did Maria take several days to name and identify Bhakta Das? Police begin concocting evidence to justify Bhakta Das' wrongful arrest. The police are now clearly in the dark. Bhakta Das is arrested at the instigation of Maria who is not an eyewitness. Tulasi did not properly identify Bhakta Das in an identification parade. The police commence concocting evidence to justify Bhakta Das's wrongful arrest . The arrest is strangely made after almost 2 months. New documents concocted to Justify his arrest Section 164 Cr.P.C. Statement. So the police spring up a new document in order to substantiate the wrongful arrest of Bhakta Das they get statements of Tulasi & Maria recorded 7 days after the arrest under Section 164 of the Cr. P.C. retelling and improving upon the old story which is established as false by two medical reports. Undated statements under Section 161 CrPC now shows up to implicate Bhakta Das And justify his unlawful arrest. Clearly no court of law will allow or permit a detention of Bhakta Das if he is not mentioned in the first report on 28/29.6.2000 and is implicated after 2 months on a fresh statement by the same person. It would manifestly show an ulterior purpose and the Police in extremely poor light. So two new documents spring up. The police after 2 months now produce undated statements of S. Maria and Tulasi. If so, why did the police not arrest Bhakta Das on 29.6.2000 itself? Why did they wait for 2 months for his arrest? Why did they not stop Bhakta Das from going to Thailand? Before I conclude my representation I would like to ask a few questions which neither the Police nor the administration have been able to answer. a) Why did Bhakta Das if he was half as guilty as made out by the Police choose to return to India from Thailand where he runs a US $ 4 million industrial empire? b) Why did Maria Schmidova not mention Bhakta Das' name in her first complaint? c) Why was Bhakta Das, a prominent member of the Krishna Conscious Community not identified and arrested for almost 2 months? d) Why would Bhakta Das move his wife and his children to Puri if the police are to be believed his vocation is to video film pornography? e) Why do 2 medical reports on the examination of Tulasi totally negate each and every incident narrated by Maria Schmidova? f) Why has Maria & Tulasi been allowed to leave India, while the accused are forced to languish in jail? Is there and surety of their return? These are questions being asked by the family, the friends and the community, to which Bhakta Das belongs. Everyday is heartbreaking for us and we have not come to terms with fact that the country, in which we chose to live, sacrificing every material comfort, is putting us through harrowing times. A mere reading of the papers connected with this case would reveal how innocence is wronged, how shallow the prosecution's case is and how incredible and fantastic the allegations made by Maria are. To top it the medical reports are the death knell of the prosecution's case. We ask of you only one thing that is JUSTICE. Are the laws of India so cruel to a man whose spiritual quest brought him to the shores of India, that he has to suffer incarceration for no crime committed by him? We think not. We request your good-self to intervene on behalf of all of us to secure the release of Bhakta Das and drop the charges, which cannot stand the scrutiny of law in a free democracy like India. Yashoda (Waeo) Benedict (wife of Bhakta dasa, 27) Bhishma Benedict (s/o Bhakta dasa, 24) Lee Elston (Mother of Bhakta dasa, 75) cc. Minister of Home Affairs New Delhi Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Minister Orissa Minister of Home Affairs of Orissa Director General of Police of Orissa Advocate General of the State of Orissa Supt. of Police, Puri, Orissa US. Consulate, Calcutta US Embassy, New Delhi Related VNN Stories Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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