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Sangeeta
Punekar, a member of the police raid that
busted in on the Swiss couple convicted for paedophilia,
gives an account of what happened on that eventful
day, when the Swiss couple was caught red-handed
and she also supplements the account with a follow-
up of the case.
Source:
June 2004 issue of 'Lawyers Collective'
Anyone
who saw the elderly looking couple walking down
the lanes of South Mumbai would have believed
that they had all the benevolent intentions while
they spoke to the street urchins. Every year,
since 1989 the couple came down to our country
and probably others like Philippines and Sri Lanka.
16 December 2000 however changed the fate of the
couple and the belief in many of us who worked
in areas of child abuse and anti trafficking.
It instilled a faith in us that the system can
act and does work that is pro-children and towards
their protection. The couple, Wilhelm Marty and
Loshiar Lily Marty were arrested in Hotel Resort
in the northern suburbs of Mumbai, caught red
handed by the sleuths of the Crime branch of the
Mumbai Commissionerate while they were in the
process of recording pornographic films with the
children .The panchnama of the room clearly indicated
the modus operandi of the couple. Lots of colourful
clothes, toys, games and stuffed toys along with
an assortment of chocolates, candy and other goodies
formed most of their baggage. They could easily
pass-off as a package that a well meaning old
couple would carry as giveaways to kids. But the
baggage also had lots of very sexy lingerie which
would otherwise have been the much-prided possession
of a bridal trousseau but they were all in children's
sizes!! The couple also had lots of condoms, gels
and lubricants used during sexual acts, a neat
first aid kit and Lily's nursing skills to heal
the physical wounds of the kids they were sexually
abusing.
When
the police got there, Wilhelm Marty was perturbed
about nothing, stark naked he walked around the
room till we reminded him to wear his clothes. However,
he kept heading for his laptop, that was connected
to the digital camera and which lay on the study
table next to the dresser and opposite the bed.
The room looked like one cosy neat studio. There
was professionalism in the work of Martys. Investing
a month or 40 days for this kind of work was a huge
investment for them considering that he held the
job of a General Manager in a Multi-National pharmaceutical
firm in Switzerland and that she was a trained nurse.
Marty said one thing with great conviction all through
the process, which disturbed us, the panchas, to
a great extent and that was "You Indians,
you are all corrupt, I can buy you". And
it was probably this belief that had led him to
this land year after year.
The
couple was very well acquainted in dealing with
children as they could communicate at ease with
the kids. The two girls aged 9 and 11,who were
also present there, in spite of not knowing the
language of the Martys, appeared to be quite comfortable.
On talking to the girls, one realized that they
were telling the parents of these girls that they
are an old couple wanting to adopt children but
are unable to do so because of the laws of India.
But they want to love these poor kids and therefore
come to India every year to spend some time with
them and give them a good time. Yes, they did
give them a good time, but not before their hidden
agenda was completed. Their itinerary showed that
they were to take different kids on different
days including male children, on all days of their
stay in India except on 25 December and they were
scheduled to leave the country around 9 January
2001.
The
couple was arrested by the police and brought
to the Police Commissioner's office. At the time
of arrest, when the police was searching the possessions
of the couple, Wilhelm Marty tried to chew a small
piece of chip which was in his wallet .It was
probably a digital chip that he used in his camera.
He was charged with trying to destroy evidence
as well. An expert was called in, following our
arrival, to the office to translate all the data
on the computer into hard copies and all the material
was thus preserved. The preparation of all the
papers was almost an overnight job during which
time the girls were taken care of by a lady police
with sensitivity. Also, the police did not directly
speak to the girls but took the help of psychologists
and psychiatrists who later appeared in the court
as expert witnesses. This meant that the girls
appeared in the court only on a single occasion
and then too they were not made to stand in the
witness box but were just made to identify the
couple. As a procedure this was important as we,
who work with children, have always lobbied for
child-friendly procedures in cases of abuse where
the girls are not just witnesses but also victims
of sexual violence so that they are not made to
relive the violence in the period of investigation
as well as at the trial.
On
17 December, the couple was produced before the
Esplanade court, Mumbai. Thereafter they were
in the police custody for two weeks, following,
which jail custody was ordered and further investigations
were carried out. From the vastness that appeared
in the entire operations of the Martys and the
phone calls that few of us received following
the arrest of the duo, it appeared at first sight
that the couple had built a huge network of people
in Mumbai. But investigations showed that the
couple actually led a pretty isolated kind of
existence. Also, the couple hired private vehicles
whose driver was connected with the couple and
therefore any child who created any problems was
immediately sent back to her family in order to
avoid any messy scenes at the hotel. However,
what came up, as an important issue was the protection
that the state had to offer to the witnesses of
the case, as the girls could not be sent back
to their families. There was no alternative but
to institutionalise the children. Fortunately,
the girls were placed in St Catherine's Home in
Mumbai from where they were able to pursue their
studies in a safe and secure environment.
Before
the charges in the case were filed, the police
from Switzerland came down to Mumbai. They also
brought with them documentary evidence found at
their residence in Steinhausen, Switzerland .The
couple had however made applications for bail
on three occasions and all of them were rejected
by the Magistrates court. Later the case was transferred
to the Sessions court where again all bail applications
were rejected. Finally, in February 2003 the trial
began. On almost all the dates, the case was on
board, it was heard. This was also a good experience
for all the witnesses whose time and commitment
to the cause was honoured by the court. Finally,
on 28 March the final order and judgement were
pronounced in the case by Honourable Justice M
R Bhatkar- seven years of rigorous imprisonment
and an amount of Rs 5000/- for the girls.
'All's
well that ends well' was the feeling one had when
we left the court that day. The feeling did last
for a little short of a year. The euphoria was
a short-lived one and it lasted until 25 March
2004, when a news item in all the popular dailies
caught our attention. The news item was on the
Marty case and it reported that the Honourable
High Court of Mumbai had reduced the term of the
Marty couple who had offered to pay all the 6
victims on record a sum of Rs one lakh towards
compensation. The articles also said that the
order was passed on the 15 March, which meant
that it was being reported 10 days later. Few
of us met and while we were working out strategies;
we heard that the State of Maharashtra would appeal
for a review of the order although the State had
not opposed the order of Honourable Justice Aguiar
when it was passed on the 15 March. The appeal
was however rejected by the Honourable High Court
and Advocate General himself took the decision
of moving the Apex court to challenge the release
of the couple on behalf of the State of Maharashtra.
The case is to be heard by the Honourable Supreme
Court but meanwhile the Martys have been granted
bail. However, the couple cannot leave the country.
Sangeeta
Punekar is working on issues of child sexual
abuse and trafficking of children. She has been
a part of the Forum Against Child Sexual Exploitation
and is currently working with Advait Foundation
in Mumbai.
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