New York, May 25: She came to America with full of hopes. But after bitter experiences, Krittika Biswas is contemplating going back to India to continue the studies there. But that’s only after those responsible for her misery are brought to the book.
Krittika, 18, daughter Debashish Biswas, vice counsel at the Indian Consulate in New York was arrested, handcuffed and put in to jail for allegedly sending emails threatening violence against two teachers at a New York City high school. Rediff.com had first reported about the incident.
The school suspended her and she missed school for over a month. But when the real culprit was found, he was not criminally charged, in a show of clear cut favoritism.
Krittika has now filed a Notice of Claim against New York City and the departments of Education and Police, along with others, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for her wrongful arrest and detention by police and disciplinary actions by the school. As per the US law, a notice should be filed before filing the actual suit.
Krittika broke down while narrating her nightmare to media persons on the steps of the City Hall of New York on Tuesday.
She could not speak for a long time about the harrowing experience she had undergone.
The notice, filed by noted attorney Ravi Batra, seeks at least $500,000 and $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages, respectively, as well as the termination of Howard Kwait, principal of John Bowne High School, where Biswas studied, and teacher Jamie Kim Ross.
The events began to unfold last October.
In December, the school raised the issue of cyberbullying — threatening and obscene emails received by two teachers, Kim Ross and Ivan Cohill, the Gym teacher.
On December 21, the School identified two students, Biswas and Aman for interview. Both teachers taught them. Moreover, they lived in the same building and the IP address of the two threatening emails came from the building, according to the officials.
“The problem is that there is no such thing as an IP address for a building! In addition, the building is not a one family house, but an apartment building with 270 apartments,” Batra said.
Moreover, the e-mails were sent from an IP Address associated with the network of “Earthlink, Inc, with IP address 24.239.172.20. Biswas’s computer IP is from Road Runner with the address 72.229.54.162.
On December 22, their parents were summoned to school, and told that because Biswas knew “French,” and part of the offensive e-mails were in French, she was the main target and that this was now a police matter.
On February 8 this year, she was summoned to the Assistant Principal’s Office and was informed that additional emails were received on February 6 and that the police had been called. She was also informed that the school was aware of her Facebook postings about Kim Ross’ playing favourites in class, and sometimes being dumb struck with math problems.
The police officers demanded that she confess or else they would ‘handcuff’ her and take her to ‘jail with prostitutes and people with HIV,’ as per the notice.
Later the handcuff was put to hurt her. When she complained the police officers did not bother. At the precinct, she asked to go to the bathroom, which was denied.
She was taken to the Central Booking and put in jail with several people. When she again asked to go to the bathroom, they said it was in the room itself. There was a closet, but there was no privacy.
The food was horrible. At night it was very cold and there was no blanket. She shared a bench to lie down with another woman. After some time, one side began to hurt and they changed sides. It was like hell, till she saw attorney Ravi Batra next day.
Krittika said the school authorities have not apologised to her, even though she suffered this much. As a student of advanced math, she found her math teacher short of the required knowledge. Her brother is a student in fifth grade in another school.
According to Batra, Krittika had pointed out her diplomatic status and asked that her father or the Indian consul general be informed of her arrest and whereabouts, which was ignored.
“I must mention at this juncture the importance of diplomatic immunity. Recently, no less than President Barack Obama asked Pakistan to grant diplomatic immunity to CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who had shot 2 Pakistanis there,” Batra said.
In the afternoon, she was taken to 107 Precinct, and placed in a detention cell where she was not permitted to use the bathroom despite repeated requests.
She was again handcuffed and transported from the Precinct station house to Queens Central Booking, where she remained confined from approximately 3:45 pm to approximately 2:30 pm the next day, February 9. At Queens Central Booking, she was finally given her Miranda Warnings.
On February 9, Batra was called and informed of a Note Verbale that had been issued to the Department of State. He met with Queens District Attorney and presented the Note Verbale, as well as asserting her actual innocence.
District Attorney Richard Brown decided to administratively dismiss the criminal charges. The arrest was expunged and she can legally say that she was never been arrested.
The notice alleged that Principal Kwait and teacher Kim Ross continued their behaviour and in consultation with education officials, suspended her on February 10 and filed disciplinary charges, and sent her to a “reform” school where “alleged criminals” go for their constitutionally mandated education.
Batra and the family then engaged experts to find out the truth about the origination IP address to challenge the suspension at a department hearing. Forensic software engineer, Gleb Liferenko, from Granville Vermont, certified that it did not originate from Biswas’s computer.
The security cameras and purchasing bills from Sky View Park Mall at College Point Boulevard, proved the presence of Biswas there, when one email was sent.
Batra said the family spent almost $50,000 for getting the forensic evidence and engaging experts.
On March 15, the principal sent an email, with an attached letter dropping all charges against her. “Yet, neither in the predicate conversation nor in the email did he or DOE admit that they had found the actual criminal who had sent these obscene and criminal emails. They hid that fact,” Batra noted.
But they came to know of his identity. Buy no case or disciplinary action was taken against him. The Notice said the actual sender of the email was an oriental Asian. Kim Ross too belongs to that category and she allegedly favoured oriental Asians and alleged that it was a reason for not taking actions against him.
She said most students in the school did not know anything about the incident. But one friend asked if she was not ashamed of being arrested. “I replied that I have not done anything wrong.”
–Agencies–