Soni Sori denied food, water and medicines for 24 hours on her way back to Raipur Jail from AIIMS, Delhi
By Team FI
Human rights activists have accused the Chhattisgarh Government of denying Soni Sori food, water and medicines immediately after her discharge from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at New Delhi. After being treated at AIIMS after months of ill-treatment and improper medical treatment by the Chhattisgarh Government, Soni Sori was sent back to the Raipur Jail.
Soni Sori’s counsel, Mr. Colin Gonsalves had expressed his concern to the Chhattisgarh Government counsel, Mr. Atul Jha about no travel arrangements being made for her return to Chhattisgarh, to which Mr Jha assured Mr Gonsalves that every necessary precaution would be taken including, if need be, return to Raipur by flight. But despite these assurances, Soni Sori was taken to Raipur by train, in a crowded unreserved compartment. In scorching summer heat, she was made to stand for most of the 24 hour long train journey from Delhi to Raipur, despite her fragile health condition. With daytime temperatures touching 45 degrees Celsius, she was denied water, kept without food for the whole day and not even given the medicines prescribed to her by the doctors at AIIMS.
Soni Sori was brought to the AIIMS on May 10th at the behest of the Supreme Court which ordered immediate and urgent treatment to be provided to her. She was suffering from the wounds inflicted on her during the sexual torture meted out to her in October, 2011 under police custody, which had been allowed to fester untreated in the jail. Consequently, she had grave secondary medical conditions, such as intermittent anal and vaginal bleeding, blisters on skin, difficulty in walking etc. at the time when she was brought to AIIMS. Over the 5 weeks of her treatment in AIIMS, she seemed to have recovered significantly, due to regular and expert medical care provided to her.
According to activists it was sheer and deliberate negligence on part of the Chhattisgarh Government that led to such deterioration in Soni Sori’s health in the first place, that the Supreme Court had to order immediate medical intervention by AIIMS. The manner in which Soni Sori is being treated after her discharge from AIIMS once again raises serious concerns about the intention of the Chhattisgarh government in ensuring her health and safety.
“It is time for state violence against her to end,” urged activists who have asked the Chhattisgarh Government to diligently follow the recommendations of AIIMS about rest, diet and medicines so that Soni Sori makes full recovery. They pointed out that the Indian Constitution guarantees under-trial prisoners basic human rights – Soni Sori rights need to be acknowledged.
It should be recalled that Soni Sori, an adivasi school teacher, had been subjected to brutal physical torture and sexual violence during her custody in the Dantewada police station on the night between 8th and 9th October, 2011. Her torture had been confirmed by an independent medical examination conducted by the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, during which stones lodged deep in her private parts had been recovered.
However, the medication prescribed by the NRS hospital had been discontinued by the jail authorities in Raipur Jail soon after her discharge, and Soni Sori had been denied any regular medical attention since the examination conducted by the NRS Hospital in October 2011. In the absence of regular medical care and attention, Ms. Sori’s condition had steadily worsened, prompting the Supreme Court in June 2012 to order her to be brought to AIIMS in New Delhi for immediate medical treatment.