S.O.S - eVoice For Justice - e-news weekly
Spreading the light of humanity & freedom
Editor: Nagaraj.M.R...vol.5.issue.49....05/12/2009
Editorial : Can we expect Justice & Rule of Law from Police & Judges
Please go through the following articles & arrive at your conclusion.
Visit , read the petition & support by signing the petition demanding
LEGAL PROSECUTION OF SPONSORERS OF TERRORISM
LEGAL PROSECUTION OF SPONSORERS OF TERRORISM
Visit , read the petition & support by signing the petition demanding , COMPLIANCE OF RTI ACT , CONSTITUTION OF INDIA ,
ACCOUNTABILITY OF INDIAN JUDGES & POLICE.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/accountability-of-indian-judges#signatures ,
ACCOUNTABILITY OF INDIAN JUDGES & POLICE.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/accountability-of-indian-judges#signatures ,
Jai hind. Vande mataram.
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.m.r.
AEROPLANE RIDES FOR CORRUPT POLICE & CORRUPT JUDGES OF INDIA
TORTURE CHAMBERS OF INDIA - 3RD DEGREE TORTURE PERPETRATED BY POLICE IN INDIA
Aeroplane is the most cruelest form of 3rd degree torture perpetrated by police on suspects. Many innocent people have confessed to crimes hey have not at all committed unable to bear the torture , pain. Many innocents have been murdered in lock-ups by police during these type of 3rd degree torture. Even if we go by the logic of police that criminals only sing under torture & they rightly deserve it , when a petty criminal stealing Rs.10000 is fit for "AEROPLANE TORTURE" , what about criminals stealing crores of rupees , what about corrupt police who aid tens of such big time criminals by filing B-report , by putting weak case of prosecution , by delaying tactics allowing for destruction of evidences , etc , what about judges who acquits big time criminals , who give judicial orders while they are in a drunken state , who acquit big criminals by conducting hearings even on dates of government holidays (concocted). ARE NOT THESE CORRUPT POLICE & JUDGES FIT FOR "BUSINESS CLASS AEROPLANE RIDE TORTURE as per the same logic of police.
At the outset , e - Voice salutes the few honest police personnel who are
silently doing their duties inspite of pressures , harassment by
political bosses & corrupt superiors , inspite of frequent transfers ,
promotion holdups , etc. overcoming the lure of bribe ,those few are
silently doing their duties without any publicity or fanfare. we salute
them & pay our respects to them and hereby appeal to those few honest
to catch their corrupt colleagues.
The police are trained , to crack open the cases of crimes by just
holding onto a thread of clue. Based on that clue they investigate like
"Sherlock holmes" and apprehend the real criminals. nowadays , when
police are under various pressures , stresses - they are frequently
using 3rd degree torture methods on innocents. Mainly there are 3
reasons for this :
1) when the investigating officer (I.O) lacks the brains of Sherlock
holmes , to cover-up his own inefficiency he uses 3rd degree torture on
innocents.
2) When the I.O is biased towards rich , powerful crooks , to frame
innocents & to extract false confessions from them , 3rd degree torture
is used on innocents.
3) When the I.O is properly doing the investigations , but the
higher-ups need very quick results - under work stress I.O uses 3rd
degree torture on innocents.
Nowhere in statuette books , police are legally authorized to punish
let alone torture the detainees / arrested / accussed / suspects. Only
the judiciary has the right to punish the guilty not the police. Even
the judiciary doesn't have the right to punish the accussed /
suspects , then how come police are using 3rd degree torture unabetted.
Even during encounters , police only have the legal right , authority
to immobilize the opponents so as to arrest them but not to kill them.
There is a reasoning among some sections of society & police that use
of 3RD DEGREE TORTURE by police is a detterent of crimes. It is false
& biased. Take for instance there are numerous scams involving 100's
of crores of public money - like stock scam , fodder scam , etc
involving rich businessmen , VVIP crooks. Why don't police use 3rd
degree torture against such rich crooks and recover crores of public
money where as the police use 3rd degree torture against a
pick-pocketer to recover hundred rupees stolen ? double standards by
police.
In media we have seen numerous cases of corrupt police officials in
league with criminals. For the sake of bribe , such police officials
bury cases , destroy evidences , go slow , frame innocents , murder
innocents in the name of encounter , etc. why don't police use 3rd
degree torture against their corrupt colleagues who are aiding
criminals , anti nationals ? double standards by police.
All the bravery of police is shown before poor , innocents , tribals ,
dalits , before them police give the pose of heroes. Whereas , before
rich , VVIP crooks , they are zeroes. They are simply like scarecrows
before rich crooks.
Torture in any form by anybody is inhuman & illegal. For the purpose of
investigations police have scientific investigative tools like
polygraph, brain mapping , lie detector , etc. these scientific tools
must be used against rich crooks & petty criminals without bias.
Hereby we urge the GOI & all state governments :
1) to book cases of murder against police personnel who use 3rd degree
torture on detainees and kill detainees in the name of encounter
killings.
2) To dismiss such inhuman , cruel personnel from police service and to
forfeit all monetary benefits due to them like gratuity , pension ,
etc.
3) To pay such forfeited amount together with matching government
contribution as compensation to family of the victim's of 3rd degree
torture & encounter killings.
4) To review , all cases where false confessions were extracted from
innocents by 3rd degree torture.
5) To make liable the executive magistrate of the area , in whose
jurisdiction torture is perpetrated by police on innocents.
6) To make it incumbent on all judicial magistrates ,to provide a
torture free climate to all parties , witnesses in cases before his
court.
7) To make public the amount & source of ransom money paid to forest
brigand veerappan to secure the release of matinee idol mr. raj kumar.
8) To make public justice A.J.Sadashiva's report on "torture of
tribals , human rights violations by Karnataka police in M.M.HILLS ,
KARNATAKA".
9) To make it mandatory for police to use scientific tools of
investigations like brain mapping , polygraph , etc without bias
against suspects rich or poor.
10) To include human rights education in preliminary & refresher
training of police personnel.
11) To recruit persons on merit to police force who have aptitude &
knack for investigations.
12) To insulate police from interference from politicians & superiors.
13) To make police force answerable to a neutral apex body instead of
political bosses. Such body must be empowered to deal with all service
matters of police.
14) The political bosses & the society must treat police in a humane
manner and must know that they too have practical limitations. Then on
a reciprocal basis , police will also treat others humanely.
15) The police must be relieved fully from the sentry duties of biggies
& must be put on detective , investigative works.
Nowadays , we are seeing reports of corruption by police & judges in the media
and are also seeing reports of raids by vigilance authorities seizing crores of
wealth from such corrupt police. Some Judges have also amassed crores of wealth.
Who gives them money ? it is rich criminals , anti-nationals . By taking bribe &
hiding the crimes of criminals , the corrupt police & judges are themselves
becoming active parties in the crimes , anti-national activities. Those
shameless , corrupt police & judges are nothing but traitors & anti – nationals
themselves. When an innocent is subjected to 3rd degree torture to extract truth
with justification by investigating agencies that all for the sake of national
security , what degree of torture these corrupt , anti-national police & judges
qualify for ? what type of aeroplane or helicopter the corrupt police / judges
must ride ? ofcourse , for protection of national security. Here also police &
judges have double standards , what a shame.
We at e – voice are for "Rule of Law" & abhor all type of violence. Truly these
police & judges are not building a Ram Rajya of our Mahatma Gandhi's dream.
At the outset , e - Voice salutes the few honest police personnel who are
silently doing their duties inspite of pressures , harassment by
political bosses & corrupt superiors , inspite of frequent transfers ,
promotion holdups , etc. overcoming the lure of bribe ,those few are
silently doing their duties without any publicity or fanfare. we salute
them & pay our respects to them and hereby appeal to those few honest
to catch their corrupt colleagues.
The police are trained , to crack open the cases of crimes by just
holding onto a thread of clue. Based on that clue they investigate like
"Sherlock holmes" and apprehend the real criminals. nowadays , when
police are under various pressures , stresses - they are frequently
using 3rd degree torture methods on innocents. Mainly there are 3
reasons for this :
1) when the investigating officer (I.O) lacks the brains of Sherlock
holmes , to cover-up his own inefficiency he uses 3rd degree torture on
innocents.
2) When the I.O is biased towards rich , powerful crooks , to frame
innocents & to extract false confessions from them , 3rd degree torture
is used on innocents.
3) When the I.O is properly doing the investigations , but the
higher-ups need very quick results - under work stress I.O uses 3rd
degree torture on innocents.
Nowhere in statuette books , police are legally authorized to punish
let alone torture the detainees / arrested / accussed / suspects. Only
the judiciary has the right to punish the guilty not the police. Even
the judiciary doesn't have the right to punish the accussed /
suspects , then how come police are using 3rd degree torture unabetted.
Even during encounters , police only have the legal right , authority
to immobilize the opponents so as to arrest them but not to kill them.
There is a reasoning among some sections of society & police that use
of 3RD DEGREE TORTURE by police is a detterent of crimes. It is false
& biased. Take for instance there are numerous scams involving 100's
of crores of public money - like stock scam , fodder scam , etc
involving rich businessmen , VVIP crooks. Why don't police use 3rd
degree torture against such rich crooks and recover crores of public
money where as the police use 3rd degree torture against a
pick-pocketer to recover hundred rupees stolen ? double standards by
police.
In media we have seen numerous cases of corrupt police officials in
league with criminals. For the sake of bribe , such police officials
bury cases , destroy evidences , go slow , frame innocents , murder
innocents in the name of encounter , etc. why don't police use 3rd
degree torture against their corrupt colleagues who are aiding
criminals , anti nationals ? double standards by police.
All the bravery of police is shown before poor , innocents , tribals ,
dalits , before them police give the pose of heroes. Whereas , before
rich , VVIP crooks , they are zeroes. They are simply like scarecrows
before rich crooks.
Torture in any form by anybody is inhuman & illegal. For the purpose of
investigations police have scientific investigative tools like
polygraph, brain mapping , lie detector , etc. these scientific tools
must be used against rich crooks & petty criminals without bias.
Hereby we urge the GOI & all state governments :
1) to book cases of murder against police personnel who use 3rd degree
torture on detainees and kill detainees in the name of encounter
killings.
2) To dismiss such inhuman , cruel personnel from police service and to
forfeit all monetary benefits due to them like gratuity , pension ,
etc.
3) To pay such forfeited amount together with matching government
contribution as compensation to family of the victim's of 3rd degree
torture & encounter killings.
4) To review , all cases where false confessions were extracted from
innocents by 3rd degree torture.
5) To make liable the executive magistrate of the area , in whose
jurisdiction torture is perpetrated by police on innocents.
6) To make it incumbent on all judicial magistrates ,to provide a
torture free climate to all parties , witnesses in cases before his
court.
7) To make public the amount & source of ransom money paid to forest
brigand veerappan to secure the release of matinee idol mr. raj kumar.
8) To make public justice A.J.Sadashiva's report on "torture of
tribals , human rights violations by Karnataka police in M.M.HILLS ,
KARNATAKA".
9) To make it mandatory for police to use scientific tools of
investigations like brain mapping , polygraph , etc without bias
against suspects rich or poor.
10) To include human rights education in preliminary & refresher
training of police personnel.
11) To recruit persons on merit to police force who have aptitude &
knack for investigations.
12) To insulate police from interference from politicians & superiors.
13) To make police force answerable to a neutral apex body instead of
political bosses. Such body must be empowered to deal with all service
matters of police.
14) The political bosses & the society must treat police in a humane
manner and must know that they too have practical limitations. Then on
a reciprocal basis , police will also treat others humanely.
15) The police must be relieved fully from the sentry duties of biggies
& must be put on detective , investigative works.
Nowadays , we are seeing reports of corruption by police & judges in the media
and are also seeing reports of raids by vigilance authorities seizing crores of
wealth from such corrupt police. Some Judges have also amassed crores of wealth.
Who gives them money ? it is rich criminals , anti-nationals . By taking bribe &
hiding the crimes of criminals , the corrupt police & judges are themselves
becoming active parties in the crimes , anti-national activities. Those
shameless , corrupt police & judges are nothing but traitors & anti – nationals
themselves. When an innocent is subjected to 3rd degree torture to extract truth
with justification by investigating agencies that all for the sake of national
security , what degree of torture these corrupt , anti-national police & judges
qualify for ? what type of aeroplane or helicopter the corrupt police / judges
must ride ? ofcourse , for protection of national security. Here also police &
judges have double standards , what a shame.
We at e – voice are for "Rule of Law" & abhor all type of violence. Truly these
police & judges are not building a Ram Rajya of our Mahatma Gandhi's dream.
SP nabbed by Karnataka Lokayukta
Kolar, Nov 28 2009 : Kolar district superintendent of police, K P Puttaswamy, was to proceed for a 40-day special training scheduled to be held in
Based on a complaint filed by a constable from the town police station here, a Lokayukta team led by superintendent of police (SP), Madhukar Shetty and others caught the SP red-handed. The team which raided the house of the SP recovered Rs 1.65 lac in cash.
As per the information provided by the Lokayukta team, P P Prakash, who is an ex-serviceman, working as a constable in the town police station here, had become ill and gone on leave. After rejoining the duties, he failed to provide details and certificates. After the departmental inquiry was conducted against him for this lapse, the constable apologized. However, instead of showing lenience, the department conducted another inquiry against him.
At that time, Prakash is said to have approached the superintendent of police, who reportedly demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 to show lenience in the case. Even after he paid it, Prakash was handed the punishment of compulsory retirement from service. When Prakash approached the SP in this connection, the latter reportedly demanded an additional Rs 10,000 from him for favouring him. Frustrated, Prakash directly went to the office of the Lokayukta in
At around 12.30 pm on Friday, the constable entered the office of the SP with Rs 10,000 in his hand and placed a packet of Rs 100 notes on the SP’s table. At the time the SP touched cash, a burqa-clad lady constable of the Lokayukta suddenly entered the room, resisting attempts by the guard to stop her. As she signalled other Lokayukta officials, they rushed into the room and caught the SP off guard. The Lokayukta succeeded in maintaining so much secrecy, that long after the SP was caught, many in the office were unaware of the incident. Even the additional superintendent of police, Phanindra Singh, was informed about the incident later.
It is said that the SP initially did not cooperate, but later, apologized for his action. Simultaneously, the Lokayukta personnel raided the SP’s house. 46 year-old Puttaswamy, who was promoted from the KSP cadre to the IPS grade in 1997, had taken over as the superintendent of police of the district in the year 2008. He happens to be the second IPS officer in the state to have been nabbed by the Lokayukta.
SP ARRESTED ON GRAFT CHARGE BY Karnataka lokayukta
March 14 2008
Srikantappa
Additional Director-General of Police (Lokayukta) R.K. Datta told presspersons here that Lokayukta officers arrested Chamarajanagar District Superintendent of Police Srikantappa for allegedly accepting Rs. 50,000 from S.M. Farooq for closing a case registered against him and allowing him to continue with sand mining. Srikantappa’s associate, Subbanna, who allegedly acted as the middleman, has also been arrested.
Mr. Datta said there were several complaints of harassment and demands for bribe against Srikantappa. One such complaint was filed by Mr. Farooq. “As the complaint was against a senior officer, we took every precaution,” Mr. Datta said. A team, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Lokayukta) K.S.R. Charan Reddy, was sent from
Srikantappa approached the businessman through Subbanna seeking Rs. 25,000 to get the case closed and an additional Rs. 25,000 to let Mr. Farooq continue with his business. Subsequently, the businessman filed a complaint with the Lokayukta, Mr. Hegde said.
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date : 29/12/2009…………………………..your's sincerely,
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CRIMINALS IN POLICE UNIFORM
- An appeal to union home minister & Karnataka state home minister
The ABC of police force inIndia
brutality & corruption . inIndia
law instead are working as hand maidens of rich & mighty. The corrupt
police officers are collecting protection money from criminals ,
collecting money to go slow on investigations , to file B- reports , to
fix innocents in fake cases , to murder innocents in lock-up /
encounters . they are hand in league with land mafia , today C.M of
Karnataka himself issued a warning to police officials about this.
Even in lock-ups , jails, the rich inmates bribe
officials get better food from outside , mobile phones , drugs , drinks
, cigareetes , etc. they get spacious cells & get best private medical
care . where as the poor inmates are even denied food , health care ,
living space as per the provisions of law. The corrupt jail officials
instigate rowdy elements in the jails to assault poor inmates & to toe
their line. More corrupt the police more wealthier he is. Even CBI
officials are no different. The only beacon of hope is still there are
few honest people left in the police force.
Hereby , e-voice urges you to make public the following
information in the interest of justice.
1.how many CBI officials & Karnataka state police officials are facing
charges of corruption , 3rd degree torture , lock-up/encounter deaths
, rapes , fake cases , etc ?
2.how you are monitoring the ever increasing wealth of corrupt police
officials?
3.how many officials from the ranks of constable to DGP have amassed
illegal wealth?
4.what action you have taken in these cases ? have you got
reinvestigated all the cases handled by tainted police?
5.how many policemen have been awarded death penalty & hanged till
death , for cold blooded murders in the form of lock-up deaths /
encounter deaths ?
6.why DGP of Karnataka is not registering my complaint dt 10/12/2004 ,
subsequent police complaints ?
is it because rich & mighty are involved ?
7.e - voice is ready to bring to book corrupt police officials subject to
conditions, are you ready ?
8.how many police personnel are charged with violations of people's
human rights & fundamental rights ?
9.how many STF police deployed to nab veerappan were themselves
charged with theft of forest wealth?
10.how you are ensuring the safety , health , food , living space of
inmates in jails?
11.how you are ensuring the medical care , health of prisoners in
hospitals & mental asylums?
12.How you are ensuring the safety , health , food , living space of
inmates in juvenile homes ?
TORTURE CHAMBERS OFINDIA
They are our own Gitmos. Where, far away from the eyes of the law, 'enemies of
the state' are made to 'sing'. THE WEEK investigates
By Syed Nazakat
Little Terrorist, as the intelligence sleuths came to call him, turned out to be
a hard nut to crack. No amount of torture would work on 20-year-old Mohammed
Issa, who was picked up fromDelhi Delhi
believed that he had a hotline to Lashkar-e-Toiba deputy chief Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhwi, who later masterminded the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. At a secret detention
centre inDelhi
method in their arsenal-from electric shock to sleep deprivation-to make Issa
sing. He stuck to his original line: that he had come fromNepal to visit a
relative inDelhi
According to the police, the youth from Uttar Pradesh, who had moved toNepal in
2000 along with his family after his father, Irfan Ahmed, was accused in a
terrorism case, returned toIndia
capital. More than six months after he was picked up, the police announced his
arrest on August 14. He has since been shifted to the Tihar jail. His lawyer
N.D. Pancholi said Issa was kept in illegal custody for months. If not, let the
police say where he was between February 5 and August 15, he challenged.
Issa could have been detained in any of Delhi's joint interrogation centres,
used by the police and intelligence agencies to extract precious information
from the detainees using methods frowned upon by the law. As one top police
officer told THE WEEK in the course of our investigation, these torture chambers
spread across the country are our "precious assets". They are our own little
Guantanamo Bays or Gitmos (where the US tortures terror suspects from
Afghanistan
Not many admit their existence, because doing so could result in human rights
activists knocking at their doors and bad press for the smartly dressed
intelligence men. It is a murky and dangerous world, according to K.S.
Subramanian, Tripura's former director-general of police, who has also served in
the Intelligence Bureau. "Such sites exist and are being used to detain and
interrogate suspected terrorists and it has been going on for a long time," he
told THE WEEK. "Even senior police officers are reluctant to talk about the
system." So are people who have been to these virtual hells that officially do
not exist.
THE WEEK has identified 15 such secret interrogation centres-three each in
Mumbai,Delhi , Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir , two in Kolkata and one in Assam
(One detention centre that is shared by all security and law enforcement
agencies is in Palanpur,Gujarat .) Their locations have been arrived at after
speaking to serving and retired top officers who had helped set up some of these
facilities. Those who have spent time in these places had no idea where they
are. They were taken blindfolded and were allowed no visitors. The only faces
they got to see were those of the interrogators, day in and day out.
The biggest of the three detention centres in Mumbai, the Aarey Colony facility
in Goregaon, has four rooms. The Anti-Terrorism Squad questioned Saeed Khan
(name changed), one of the accused in theMalegaon
here. He was served food at irregular intervals (led to temporary
disorientation) and was denied sleep. Another secret detention centre maintained
in the city by the ATS at Kalachowky has a sound-proof room. Sohail Shaikh,
accused in the July 2006 train bombings, was held here for close to two months.
"He was kept in isolation for days together," said an officer. "He crumbled
after being subjected to hostile sessions. Intentional infliction of suffering
does not always yield immediate results. Sometimes you have to wait for many
days for the detainee to break. It is a tedious process." The smallest of the
three facilities at Chembur has just two rooms.
Parvez Ahmed Radoo, 30, of Baramulla district in Kashmir, was illegally detained
inDelhi
national capital on behalf of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. TheDelhi Police's
chargesheet says he was arrested from the Azadpur fruit market inDelhi
October 14, 2006. But according to Parvez's flight itinerary, he travelled from
Srinagar to Delhi
Delhi
(SpiceJet flight 217) to Pune, where, according to his parents, he was going to
pursue his Ph.D. But he never boarded the Pune flight as he disappeared from the
Delhi
Parvez wrote an open letter from the Tihar jail, where he is currently held, in
which he said he was arrested from the airport on September 12 and kept in
custody for a month. Apparently, he was first taken to the Lodhi Colony police
station and then to an apartment in Dwarka, where electrodes were attached to
his genitals and power was switched on. (Delhi's secret detention centres are
located at Dwarka in south-west Delhi, the Inter-state Cell of the Crime Branch
in Chanakyapuri in central Delhi, and the Lodhi Colony police station in south
Delhi.)
"After my arrest on September 12, I was taken to Pune, where I was shown
pictures of many Kashmiri boys," Parvez said in the letter. "They wanted me to
identify them. As I didn't know any one of them, they brought me toDelhi
and threw me into the torture chamber ofLodhi Road
took off my clothes and started beating me like an animal, so ruthlessly that my
feet and fingers started bleeding. I was later forced to clean the blood-stained
floor with my underwear. They gave me electric shocks and stretched my legs to
extreme limits, resulting in internal haemorrhage. I started passing blood with
my urine and stool. Later I was shifted to one flat nearDelhi
identified the place as Dwarka]. From the adjacent flats, voices of crying and
screaming had been coming, indicating presence of other persons being tortured."
Throughout his detention, wrote Parvez, he was asked to lie to his parents that
everything was fine. In the letter he also gave the mobile number from which the
calls were made-9960565152. His family is trying to collect the call site
details of the number to prove his illegal detention.
Delhi-based journalist Iftikhar Geelani, who spent nine days in the Lodhi Colony
police station after his arrest in 2002 on spying charges, is yet to get over
the traumatic experience. "There are lock-ups with such low ceilings that a
person will not be able to stand," he said. "There is an interrogation centre
within the police station where people are brutally tortured with cables, and
some are completely undressed and abused. They also have a facility to raise the
temperature of the cell to a point where it is unbearable and then suddenly
bring it down to freezing cold."
Assistant Commissioner Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for theDelhi
existence of such facilities. "Nobody ever asked me the question [about secret
detention centres]," he said. "We don't operate any such facility in our police
stations."
But Maloy Krishna Dhar, former joint director of the IB, confirmed the existence
of secret detention centres inDelhi
convinced that detention outside the police station and torture are an
inevitable part of the war on terrorism. "Now I would never dream of doing the
things I did when I was in charge," said Dhar. "But security agencies need such
facilities." Interrogating suspected terrorists at secret detention centres, he
said, is the most effective way to gather intelligence. "If you produce a
suspect before court, he will never give you anything after that," he said. In
other words, once you record the arrest you are within the realm of the law and
you have to acknowledge the rights of the accused-arrested and contend with his
lawyer.
An officer who worked in one of the detention centres admitted that extreme
physical and psychological torture, based loosely on the regime inGuantanamo
Bay
the senses (pounding the ear with loud and disturbing music) and sleep
deprivation, keeping prisoners naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly
administering drugs through the rectum to further break down their dignity. "The
interrogators isolate key operatives so that the interrogator is the only person
they see each day," he said. "In extreme cases we use pethidine injections. It
will make a person crazy."
Molvi Iqbal from Uttar Pradesh, a suspected member of the
Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami who is currently lodged in Tihar, was held at a secret
detention centre for two months according to his relatives. They alleged that
during interrogation a chip was implanted under his skin so that his movements
could be tracked if he tried to escape. "He fears that the chip is still inside
his skin," said one of his relatives. "That has shattered him."
Kolkata has its own Gitmos in Bhabani Bhawan, now the headquarters of the
Criminal Investigation Department, and the Alipore Retreat in Tollygunj, a
bungalow that is said to have 20 rooms. They were bursting at the seams at the
height of the Naxalite movement, but are more or less quiet now. "A large number
of innocent people, as well as suspected terrorists, have disappeared after
being taken to such secret detention centres," said Kirity Roy, a Kolkata-based
human rights lawyer. "Their bodies would later be found, if at all, in the
fields."
That was how militancy was tackled, first in Punjab and then inKashmir . Today
no secret prison exists inKashmir officially after the notorious Papa-2
interrogation centre was closed down. But secret torture cells thrive across the
state. The most notorious ones are the Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG) camp
in Haftchinar area inSrinagar
the joint interrogation centres in Khanabal area of Anantnag district and Talab
Tillo and Poonch areas inJammu
Lawyers inKashmir have filed 15,000 petitions since 1990 seeking the
whereabouts of the detainees and the charges against them without avail.
The most recent victim of the torture regime was Manzoor Ahmed Beigh, 40, who
was picked by the SOG from Alucha Bagh area inSrinagar
alleged that he was chained up, hung upside down from the ceiling and ruthlessly
beaten up. He died the same night. Following public outrage, the officer in
charge of the camp was dismissed from the service in June.
Maqbool Sahil, a Srinagar-based photojournalist who was held at Hariniwas
interrogation centre for 15 days, says it is a miracle that he is alive today.
"If you tell them [interrogators] you are innocent, they will torture you so
ruthlessly that you will break down and confess to anything," he says.
Human rights organisations are understandably concerned. Navaz Kotwal,
coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said that there should
be an open debate on the illegal detention centres. "TheUS
Gitmos. Our government should come forward and respond to these allegations,"
she said.
No one wants to compromise the nation's safety, but the torture becomes
unbearable, and questionable, when innocent people like the 14-year-old boy
Irfan suffer (see box on page 30). The security of the country and its people is
important and terrorism should be crushed at all cost. But the largest democracy
in the world should also ensure that human rights are not violated.
Dhar defended the secret prison system, arguing that the successful defence of
the country required that the security establishment be empowered to hold and
interrogate suspected terrorists for as long as necessary and without
restrictions imposed by the legal system. "The primary mission of the agencies
is to save the nation both by overt and covert means from any terrorist threat,"
he said. "But to keep the programme secret is a horrible burden."
with Anupam Dasgupta
Forty secret interrogation cells unveil real face of India [The Nation] 05 Jul,
2009
Worlds oldest democracy United States may have been forced to close Guantanamo
Bay detention centre, but the largest democracy India runs 40 such secret
chambers across the country, where suspects are subjected to extreme
interrogation for months and years.
A leading news magazine The Week in its forthcoming issue, accessed by KT News
Service (KTNS), revealed the horror of torture chambers, far from the eyes of
law.
The investigating team of the magazine identified 15 secret interrogation
centres-three each in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, two in
Kolkatta and one in Assam. Officials admit that there could be more and roughly
put their numbers at 40. In Palanpur region ofGujarat all security agencies
share one detention centre, the magazine report said. It maintained that mostly
suspects were brought blindfolded so they could hardly pinpoint the place,
adding, the only faces they got to see were those of the interrogators.
The magazine quoted Parvez Ahmed Radoo, 30, of Baramulla district, a student in
Pune University , who was illegally detained in Delhi
open letter, from notorious Tihar jail, wrote that electrodes were attached to
his genitals and power was switched on during interrogation in the centre.
A large number of innocent people, as well as suspected terrorists, have
disappeared after being taken to such secret detention centres, said Kirity Roy,
a Kolkata-based human rights lawyer.
The report further said that in Kashmir, there were many interrogation centres
like the Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG) camp in Haftchinar area inSrinagar
and Humhama in Budgam district.
There are the joint interrogation centres in Khanabal area ofIslamabad district
and Talab Tillo inJammu
It said that the lawyers inKashmir had filed 15,000 petitions since 1990
seeking the whereabouts of the detainees and the charges against them without
avail.
The most recent victim of the torture regime was Manzoor Ahmed Beigh, 40, who
was picked by the SOG from Aloochi Bagh area inSrinagar
said that he was chained up, hung upside down from the ceiling and ruthlessly
beaten up.
He died the same night.
Quoting KS Subramanian, former Director General of Indian police who had also
served in the Intelligence Bureau, the report said that these sites existed and
were being used to detain and interrogate suspects and it had been going on for
a long time.
An officer, who worked in one of the detention centres admitted that extreme
physical and psychological torture, based loosely on the regime inGuantanamo
Bay
It included assault on the senses like sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners
naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly administering drugs through
the rectum to further break down their dignity.
InIndia , Torture by Police Is Frequent and Often Deadly
By Rama Lakshmi
MEERUT , India
barged into his house a month ago and dragged him out of bed on suspicion of a
burglary in the neighborhood, his family recalled.
When his young wife and brother protested, the police, who did not show them an
arrest warrant, said they were taking Sharma to the police station for "routine
questioning."
"Little did we know that we would lose him forever," said Sunil Sharma, Rajeev's
brother, recounting how he died while in police custody. "Their routine
questioning proved fatal," he added, sitting beside his brother's grieving
widow.
Rajeev Sharma, 28, died at the police station within a day of his detention.
Police said he committed suicide, but his family charges that he was beaten and
killed.
The case highlights the frequent use of torture and deadly force at local police
stations inIndia
Supreme Court. A little more than a decade after Parliament established the
National Human Rights Commission to deal with such abuses, police torture
continues unabated, according to human rights groups and the Supreme Court.
According to the latest available government data, there were 1,307 reported
deaths in police and judicial custody inIndia
"India has the highest number of cases of police torture and custodial deaths
among the world's democracies and the weakest law against torture," said Ravi
Nair, who heads theSouth Asia Human Rights Documentation Center
often operate in a climate of impunity, where torture is seen as routine police
behavior to extract confessions from small pickpockets to political suspects."
He said that laws governing police functions were framed under British colonial
rule in 1861 "as an oppressive force designed to keep the population under
control."
Police records show that, two weeks before his detention, Rajeev Sharma made a
electrician's service call at the home of a wealthy businessman. On that day,
the man reported that $500 worth of gold jewelry and about $100 in cash were
missing, police said.
After Sharma's detention, his brother called the police station and was told
that Sharma had confessed to the theft, he said. The brother said he and other
family members rushed to the station and were able to see Sharma briefly.
"His eyes were red, his mouth was bleeding and he could hardly walk. They had
beaten him very badly. That was the last glimpse we had," said Sunil Sharma, 35.
"By the evening, the police informed us that he had committed suicide in the
lockup by hanging himself with a blanket. The suicide story is a coverup; my
brother died of police torture."
The death in police custody sparked two days of rioting and protests inMeerut ,
about 45 miles fromNew Delhi
residents surrounded and threw stones at the police station, burned police
vehicles and blocked traffic.
Thousands participated in Sharma's funeral procession; protesters demanded an
open inquest by a panel of physicians and the immediate arrests of those
responsible.
Police conducted an autopsy in private, lawyers close to the case said. But
authorities did issue arrest warrants for the man who said he had been robbed
and for six police officers, an apparent reaction to the unusual popular outcry,
family members and lawyers said. The merchant is in jail, alleged to have
participated in beating Sharma, but the police officers apparently have fled,
authorities said.
Although the Indian government signed the international Convention Against
Torture in 1997, it has not ratified the document. Some members of Parliament
have argued against ratification, saying they oppose international scrutiny and
asserting that Indian laws have adequate provisions to prevent torture. Human
rights advocates said Uttar Pradesh ranks highest among Indian states in the
incidence of police torture and custodial deaths.
Some police officers justify the use of torture to extract confessions and
instill fear.
"The police inIndia
results. So we have to pick up and interrogate a lot of people. Sometimes things
get out of control," said Raghuraj Singh Chauhan, a newly assigned officer at
the station where Rajeev Sharma died. "After all, confessions cannot be
extracted with love. The fear of the police has to be kept alive -- how else
would you reduce crime?" he added, fanning himself with a police file folder.
A senior police officer inMeerut
torture methods with a visiting reporter. One technique, he said, involves a
two-foot-long rubber belt attached to a wooden handle.
"We call this thing samaj sudharak," the officer said, smiling, using the Hindi
phrase for social reformer. "When we hit with this, there are no fractures, no
blood, no major peeling of the skin. It is safe for us, as nothing shows up in
the postmortem report. But the pain is such that the person can only appeal to
God. He will confess to anything."
Last September, in a written ruling in a case of police misconduct, the Supreme
Court criticized the use of torture. "The dehumanizing torture, assault and
death in custody which have assumed alarming proportions raise serious questions
about the credibility of the rule of law and administration of the criminal
justice system," the court said. "The cry for justice becomes louder and
warrants immediate remedial measure."
In addition, the severity of the torture problem is probably worse than
statistics indicate, because victims, fearing reprisals, rarely report cases
against the police, human rights advocates said.
"About 40 percent of custodial torture cases are not even reported. They are
just grateful for God's mercy that they are alive and free," said Pradeep Kumar,
a human rights lawyer who has represented police torture victims in Uttar
Pradesh. "Torture sometimes leads to permanent disability, psychological trauma,
loss of faculties."
The National Human Rights Commission, led by a retired Supreme Court justice,
has faced criticism that it is too dependent on the government and lacks
enforcement power.
"We have not been able to build a human rights culture in the police force,"
said Shankar Sen, a former police officer and an ex-member of the commission.
"It is not only individual aberration but a matter of systemic failure."
The commission has ordered that cameras be installed in police stations to
monitor and deter police brutality.
"In the past year we have spent about $600,000 to equip most of the police
stations inNew Delhi
transparent and have a big impact on torture," said Maxwell Pereira, a senior
police official in the capital.
But critics and families of victims said they had not seen changes. In a
much-publicized case inNew Delhi
beating and killing Sushil Kumar Nama at a police station.
Nama had been detained on suspicion that he was working with neighborhood
gamblers. Four of the police officers were arrested in April, but one remains at
large, authorities said. Police officials denied that Nama was tortured, saying
he died of a heart attack after he was released from custody.
"My two children are so traumatized that now they run home scared every time
they see a policeman on the street," said Nama's wife, Rekha, 29. "They know
that danger lurks behind that uniform. They are not policemen, they are wolves."
On the wrong side of law
By Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Delhi
Chunchun Kumar
Chunchun Kumar's wound is still raw
For Chunchun Kumar of Bihar's Nawada district, it was just another evening as he
lounged around at a tea stall in his village along with a friend.
But, then something happened that changed his life.
"It was 17 March of this year. There were six of them. When we first saw them,
they were beating up the temple priest. He was lying on the ground, they were
kicking and punching him," Kumar says.
"Then they started hitting two other men. Then they came into the tea shop and
they beat us black and blue. Then they fired at us."
Kumar lifts up his shirt to show a bullet mark on his abdomen. The wound is
still oozing.
The perpetrators were no ordinary criminals.
Says Kumar, "They were all policemen. I don't know why they were angry. They
were all drunk, they were like drunk elephants, they went on a rampage."
The shocked villagers complained to the police authorities, and the offending
policemen were suspended from duty and arrested.
'Very serious'
Additional director general of police inBihar Anil Sinha confirmed the
incident.
"Two of the policemen who were inebriated vandalised the tea shop and began
firing despite protests from their other colleagues. They were arrested and,
although they have been released on bail, they are facing criminal charges."
Kumar's fight for justice recently brought him to the Indian capital, Delhi,
where he narrated his story atIndia
Torture.
Activists say torture by police is rampant inIndia
"The problem of torture is very serious. Today we have around 1.8 million cases
of police torture each year inIndia
NGO.
Policemen inIndia
The police are often a law unto themselves, say campaigners
Mr Tiphagne says the victims mostly are from the poorer sections of society.
"They are generally the (low-caste) Dalits, the tribals and the Muslims. And
torture is used by those who are in power, those who possess, the landlords and
the companies who put pressure on the police to carry out torture," Mr Tiphagne
says.
Mr Anil Sinha says cases of human rights violations involving the police are
"exaggerated" by activists.
"It's a kind of stereotype being dished out by the NGOs and activists. And
because police have a bad reputation, so people take such allegations to be
correct.
"We do not condone any human rights violations by police in any manner, and such
cases are rare. We have a mechanism in place to deal with such cases and
penalise the guilty," Mr Sinha says.
Shankar Sen, a retired police officer and former member of the human rights
commission, says: "The policeman's work is very complex, there are pressure on
him to deliver results, the police are exposed to extraneous influences and
pressures."
But, he says, that does not condone torture. "It's illegal, and as a policeman I
know it doesn't work."
Mr Sen admits that police torture is prevalent. "Torture does take place, it's
very common, but it's unacceptable. Some allegations against the police are
shocking."
Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch says nearly every police station in
India
'Arbiter of justice'
In many parts of the country, she says, the situation is so bad that people will
not got to a police station to file a case fearing prosecution and retribution.
"There is this pattern of impunity. The fact that police believe they can get
away with it has added to the problem," Ms Ganguly says.
"The greater problem is that an average policeman believes himself to be the
arbiter of justice. Instead of going to the court, he himself is delivering
justice.
Arun Kumar with parents PP Raju and Lakshmi
Arun Kumar's mental age has been reduced to one year
"The policeman is not supposed to punish the criminal, he is supposed to catch
the criminal," she says.
For the victims of torture and their families, it is a long haul.
Arun Kumar of the southern city ofBangalore
his employer suspected him of having an affair with his wife.
Kumar's parents, PP Raju and Lakshmi, say their family home was ransacked, Kumar
was taken to the police station where he was beaten up and tortured for days.
Unable to bear the pain and the trauma, Kumar drank pesticides in an attempt to
kill himself.
He survived, but his parents say their son's mental age has been reduced to one
year - he is on medication and requires constant care.
The guilty policeman was suspended for a week, but reinstated later. The family
has a long fight ahead of them.
'Deterrence'
Says Mr Tiphagne, "A case I initiated in 1981 ended in 2007 with the dismissal
of the officer. So I have hope in Arun Kumar's case too."
But, he says, this long wait can be a huge deterrence for even the most
determined.
Henri Tiphagne of People's Watch.
Mr Tiphagne says nearly 2 million cases of torture take place inIndia
year
"The torture at the police station ends, but the torture of institutions
continues. It's more of a psychological and mental nature, it is very
challenging. Most people don't have the courage to withstand that, very few
survive that," Mr Tiphagne says.
So while the victims continue to live with the trauma, most of the perpetrators
get away.
They are also emboldened by the fact thatIndia
The country signed the UN Convention on Torture in 1997, but even 10 years
later, it has not ratified it.
"We have to change our culture. We have to create awareness that torture is
illegal. The civil society will have to get involved," says Meenakshi Ganguly.
"People will have to get past the fact that torture happens only to other
people. And once that happens, it will change," she says.
- An appeal to union home minister & Karnataka state home minister
The ABC of police force in
brutality & corruption . in
law instead are working as hand maidens of rich & mighty. The corrupt
police officers are collecting protection money from criminals ,
collecting money to go slow on investigations , to file B- reports , to
fix innocents in fake cases , to murder innocents in lock-up /
encounters . they are hand in league with land mafia , today C.M of
Karnataka himself issued a warning to police officials about this.
Even in lock-ups , jails, the rich inmates bribe
officials get better food from outside , mobile phones , drugs , drinks
, cigareetes , etc. they get spacious cells & get best private medical
care . where as the poor inmates are even denied food , health care ,
living space as per the provisions of law. The corrupt jail officials
instigate rowdy elements in the jails to assault poor inmates & to toe
their line. More corrupt the police more wealthier he is. Even CBI
officials are no different. The only beacon of hope is still there are
few honest people left in the police force.
Hereby , e-voice urges you to make public the following
information in the interest of justice.
1.how many CBI officials & Karnataka state police officials are facing
charges of corruption , 3rd degree torture , lock-up/encounter deaths
, rapes , fake cases , etc ?
2.how you are monitoring the ever increasing wealth of corrupt police
officials?
3.how many officials from the ranks of constable to DGP have amassed
illegal wealth?
4.what action you have taken in these cases ? have you got
reinvestigated all the cases handled by tainted police?
5.how many policemen have been awarded death penalty & hanged till
death , for cold blooded murders in the form of lock-up deaths /
encounter deaths ?
6.why DGP of Karnataka is not registering my complaint dt 10/12/2004 ,
subsequent police complaints ?
is it because rich & mighty are involved ?
7.e - voice is ready to bring to book corrupt police officials subject to
conditions, are you ready ?
8.how many police personnel are charged with violations of people's
human rights & fundamental rights ?
9.how many STF police deployed to nab veerappan were themselves
charged with theft of forest wealth?
10.how you are ensuring the safety , health , food , living space of
inmates in jails?
11.how you are ensuring the medical care , health of prisoners in
hospitals & mental asylums?
12.How you are ensuring the safety , health , food , living space of
inmates in juvenile homes ?
TORTURE CHAMBERS OF
They are our own Gitmos. Where, far away from the eyes of the law, 'enemies of
the state' are made to 'sing'. THE WEEK investigates
By Syed Nazakat
Little Terrorist, as the intelligence sleuths came to call him, turned out to be
a hard nut to crack. No amount of torture would work on 20-year-old Mohammed
Issa, who was picked up from
believed that he had a hotline to Lashkar-e-Toiba deputy chief Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhwi, who later masterminded the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. At a secret detention
centre in
method in their arsenal-from electric shock to sleep deprivation-to make Issa
sing. He stuck to his original line: that he had come from
relative in
According to the police, the youth from Uttar Pradesh, who had moved to
2000 along with his family after his father, Irfan Ahmed, was accused in a
terrorism case, returned to
capital. More than six months after he was picked up, the police announced his
arrest on August 14. He has since been shifted to the Tihar jail. His lawyer
N.D. Pancholi said Issa was kept in illegal custody for months. If not, let the
police say where he was between February 5 and August 15, he challenged.
Issa could have been detained in any of Delhi's joint interrogation centres,
used by the police and intelligence agencies to extract precious information
from the detainees using methods frowned upon by the law. As one top police
officer told THE WEEK in the course of our investigation, these torture chambers
spread across the country are our "precious assets". They are our own little
Not many admit their existence, because doing so could result in human rights
activists knocking at their doors and bad press for the smartly dressed
intelligence men. It is a murky and dangerous world, according to K.S.
Subramanian, Tripura's former director-general of police, who has also served in
the Intelligence Bureau. "Such sites exist and are being used to detain and
interrogate suspected terrorists and it has been going on for a long time," he
told THE WEEK. "Even senior police officers are reluctant to talk about the
system." So are people who have been to these virtual hells that officially do
not exist.
THE WEEK has identified 15 such secret interrogation centres-three each in
Mumbai,
(One detention centre that is shared by all security and law enforcement
agencies is in Palanpur,
speaking to serving and retired top officers who had helped set up some of these
facilities. Those who have spent time in these places had no idea where they
are. They were taken blindfolded and were allowed no visitors. The only faces
they got to see were those of the interrogators, day in and day out.
The biggest of the three detention centres in Mumbai, the Aarey Colony facility
in Goregaon, has four rooms. The Anti-Terrorism Squad questioned Saeed Khan
(name changed), one of the accused in the
here. He was served food at irregular intervals (led to temporary
disorientation) and was denied sleep. Another secret detention centre maintained
in the city by the ATS at Kalachowky has a sound-proof room. Sohail Shaikh,
accused in the July 2006 train bombings, was held here for close to two months.
"He was kept in isolation for days together," said an officer. "He crumbled
after being subjected to hostile sessions. Intentional infliction of suffering
does not always yield immediate results. Sometimes you have to wait for many
days for the detainee to break. It is a tedious process." The smallest of the
three facilities at Chembur has just two rooms.
Parvez Ahmed Radoo, 30, of Baramulla district in Kashmir, was illegally detained
in
national capital on behalf of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. The
chargesheet says he was arrested from the Azadpur fruit market in
October 14, 2006. But according to Parvez's flight itinerary, he travelled from
(SpiceJet flight 217) to Pune, where, according to his parents, he was going to
pursue his Ph.D. But he never boarded the Pune flight as he disappeared from the
Parvez wrote an open letter from the Tihar jail, where he is currently held, in
which he said he was arrested from the airport on September 12 and kept in
custody for a month. Apparently, he was first taken to the Lodhi Colony police
station and then to an apartment in Dwarka, where electrodes were attached to
his genitals and power was switched on. (Delhi's secret detention centres are
located at Dwarka in south-west Delhi, the Inter-state Cell of the Crime Branch
in Chanakyapuri in central Delhi, and the Lodhi Colony police station in south
Delhi.)
"After my arrest on September 12, I was taken to Pune, where I was shown
pictures of many Kashmiri boys," Parvez said in the letter. "They wanted me to
identify them. As I didn't know any one of them, they brought me to
and threw me into the torture chamber of
took off my clothes and started beating me like an animal, so ruthlessly that my
feet and fingers started bleeding. I was later forced to clean the blood-stained
floor with my underwear. They gave me electric shocks and stretched my legs to
extreme limits, resulting in internal haemorrhage. I started passing blood with
my urine and stool. Later I was shifted to one flat near
identified the place as Dwarka]. From the adjacent flats, voices of crying and
screaming had been coming, indicating presence of other persons being tortured."
Throughout his detention, wrote Parvez, he was asked to lie to his parents that
everything was fine. In the letter he also gave the mobile number from which the
calls were made-9960565152. His family is trying to collect the call site
details of the number to prove his illegal detention.
Delhi-based journalist Iftikhar Geelani, who spent nine days in the Lodhi Colony
police station after his arrest in 2002 on spying charges, is yet to get over
the traumatic experience. "There are lock-ups with such low ceilings that a
person will not be able to stand," he said. "There is an interrogation centre
within the police station where people are brutally tortured with cables, and
some are completely undressed and abused. They also have a facility to raise the
temperature of the cell to a point where it is unbearable and then suddenly
bring it down to freezing cold."
Assistant Commissioner Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for the
existence of such facilities. "Nobody ever asked me the question [about secret
detention centres]," he said. "We don't operate any such facility in our police
stations."
But Maloy Krishna Dhar, former joint director of the IB, confirmed the existence
of secret detention centres in
convinced that detention outside the police station and torture are an
inevitable part of the war on terrorism. "Now I would never dream of doing the
things I did when I was in charge," said Dhar. "But security agencies need such
facilities." Interrogating suspected terrorists at secret detention centres, he
said, is the most effective way to gather intelligence. "If you produce a
suspect before court, he will never give you anything after that," he said. In
other words, once you record the arrest you are within the realm of the law and
you have to acknowledge the rights of the accused-arrested and contend with his
lawyer.
An officer who worked in one of the detention centres admitted that extreme
physical and psychological torture, based loosely on the regime in
the senses (pounding the ear with loud and disturbing music) and sleep
deprivation, keeping prisoners naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly
administering drugs through the rectum to further break down their dignity. "The
interrogators isolate key operatives so that the interrogator is the only person
they see each day," he said. "In extreme cases we use pethidine injections. It
will make a person crazy."
Molvi Iqbal from Uttar Pradesh, a suspected member of the
Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami who is currently lodged in Tihar, was held at a secret
detention centre for two months according to his relatives. They alleged that
during interrogation a chip was implanted under his skin so that his movements
could be tracked if he tried to escape. "He fears that the chip is still inside
his skin," said one of his relatives. "That has shattered him."
Kolkata has its own Gitmos in Bhabani Bhawan, now the headquarters of the
Criminal Investigation Department, and the Alipore Retreat in Tollygunj, a
bungalow that is said to have 20 rooms. They were bursting at the seams at the
height of the Naxalite movement, but are more or less quiet now. "A large number
of innocent people, as well as suspected terrorists, have disappeared after
being taken to such secret detention centres," said Kirity Roy, a Kolkata-based
human rights lawyer. "Their bodies would later be found, if at all, in the
fields."
That was how militancy was tackled, first in Punjab and then in
no secret prison exists in
interrogation centre was closed down. But secret torture cells thrive across the
state. The most notorious ones are the Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG) camp
in Haftchinar area in
the joint interrogation centres in Khanabal area of Anantnag district and Talab
Tillo and Poonch areas in
Lawyers in
whereabouts of the detainees and the charges against them without avail.
The most recent victim of the torture regime was Manzoor Ahmed Beigh, 40, who
was picked by the SOG from Alucha Bagh area in
alleged that he was chained up, hung upside down from the ceiling and ruthlessly
beaten up. He died the same night. Following public outrage, the officer in
charge of the camp was dismissed from the service in June.
Maqbool Sahil, a Srinagar-based photojournalist who was held at Hariniwas
interrogation centre for 15 days, says it is a miracle that he is alive today.
"If you tell them [interrogators] you are innocent, they will torture you so
ruthlessly that you will break down and confess to anything," he says.
Human rights organisations are understandably concerned. Navaz Kotwal,
coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, said that there should
be an open debate on the illegal detention centres. "The
Gitmos. Our government should come forward and respond to these allegations,"
she said.
No one wants to compromise the nation's safety, but the torture becomes
unbearable, and questionable, when innocent people like the 14-year-old boy
Irfan suffer (see box on page 30). The security of the country and its people is
important and terrorism should be crushed at all cost. But the largest democracy
in the world should also ensure that human rights are not violated.
Dhar defended the secret prison system, arguing that the successful defence of
the country required that the security establishment be empowered to hold and
interrogate suspected terrorists for as long as necessary and without
restrictions imposed by the legal system. "The primary mission of the agencies
is to save the nation both by overt and covert means from any terrorist threat,"
he said. "But to keep the programme secret is a horrible burden."
with Anupam Dasgupta
Forty secret interrogation cells unveil real face of India [The Nation] 05 Jul,
2009
Worlds oldest democracy United States may have been forced to close Guantanamo
Bay detention centre, but the largest democracy India runs 40 such secret
chambers across the country, where suspects are subjected to extreme
interrogation for months and years.
A leading news magazine The Week in its forthcoming issue, accessed by KT News
Service (KTNS), revealed the horror of torture chambers, far from the eyes of
law.
The investigating team of the magazine identified 15 secret interrogation
centres-three each in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, two in
Kolkatta and one in Assam. Officials admit that there could be more and roughly
put their numbers at 40. In Palanpur region of
share one detention centre, the magazine report said. It maintained that mostly
suspects were brought blindfolded so they could hardly pinpoint the place,
adding, the only faces they got to see were those of the interrogators.
The magazine quoted Parvez Ahmed Radoo, 30, of Baramulla district, a student in
open letter, from notorious Tihar jail, wrote that electrodes were attached to
his genitals and power was switched on during interrogation in the centre.
A large number of innocent people, as well as suspected terrorists, have
disappeared after being taken to such secret detention centres, said Kirity Roy,
a Kolkata-based human rights lawyer.
The report further said that in Kashmir, there were many interrogation centres
like the Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG) camp in Haftchinar area in
and Humhama in Budgam district.
There are the joint interrogation centres in Khanabal area of
and Talab Tillo in
It said that the lawyers in
seeking the whereabouts of the detainees and the charges against them without
avail.
The most recent victim of the torture regime was Manzoor Ahmed Beigh, 40, who
was picked by the SOG from Aloochi Bagh area in
said that he was chained up, hung upside down from the ceiling and ruthlessly
beaten up.
He died the same night.
Quoting KS Subramanian, former Director General of Indian police who had also
served in the Intelligence Bureau, the report said that these sites existed and
were being used to detain and interrogate suspects and it had been going on for
a long time.
An officer, who worked in one of the detention centres admitted that extreme
physical and psychological torture, based loosely on the regime in
It included assault on the senses like sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners
naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly administering drugs through
the rectum to further break down their dignity.
In
By Rama Lakshmi
barged into his house a month ago and dragged him out of bed on suspicion of a
burglary in the neighborhood, his family recalled.
When his young wife and brother protested, the police, who did not show them an
arrest warrant, said they were taking Sharma to the police station for "routine
questioning."
"Little did we know that we would lose him forever," said Sunil Sharma, Rajeev's
brother, recounting how he died while in police custody. "Their routine
questioning proved fatal," he added, sitting beside his brother's grieving
widow.
Rajeev Sharma, 28, died at the police station within a day of his detention.
Police said he committed suicide, but his family charges that he was beaten and
killed.
The case highlights the frequent use of torture and deadly force at local police
stations in
Supreme Court. A little more than a decade after Parliament established the
National Human Rights Commission to deal with such abuses, police torture
continues unabated, according to human rights groups and the Supreme Court.
According to the latest available government data, there were 1,307 reported
deaths in police and judicial custody in
"
among the world's democracies and the weakest law against torture," said Ravi
Nair, who heads the
often operate in a climate of impunity, where torture is seen as routine police
behavior to extract confessions from small pickpockets to political suspects."
He said that laws governing police functions were framed under British colonial
rule in 1861 "as an oppressive force designed to keep the population under
control."
Police records show that, two weeks before his detention, Rajeev Sharma made a
electrician's service call at the home of a wealthy businessman. On that day,
the man reported that $500 worth of gold jewelry and about $100 in cash were
missing, police said.
After Sharma's detention, his brother called the police station and was told
that Sharma had confessed to the theft, he said. The brother said he and other
family members rushed to the station and were able to see Sharma briefly.
"His eyes were red, his mouth was bleeding and he could hardly walk. They had
beaten him very badly. That was the last glimpse we had," said Sunil Sharma, 35.
"By the evening, the police informed us that he had committed suicide in the
lockup by hanging himself with a blanket. The suicide story is a coverup; my
brother died of police torture."
The death in police custody sparked two days of rioting and protests in
about 45 miles from
residents surrounded and threw stones at the police station, burned police
vehicles and blocked traffic.
Thousands participated in Sharma's funeral procession; protesters demanded an
open inquest by a panel of physicians and the immediate arrests of those
responsible.
Police conducted an autopsy in private, lawyers close to the case said. But
authorities did issue arrest warrants for the man who said he had been robbed
and for six police officers, an apparent reaction to the unusual popular outcry,
family members and lawyers said. The merchant is in jail, alleged to have
participated in beating Sharma, but the police officers apparently have fled,
authorities said.
Although the Indian government signed the international Convention Against
Torture in 1997, it has not ratified the document. Some members of Parliament
have argued against ratification, saying they oppose international scrutiny and
asserting that Indian laws have adequate provisions to prevent torture. Human
rights advocates said Uttar Pradesh ranks highest among Indian states in the
incidence of police torture and custodial deaths.
Some police officers justify the use of torture to extract confessions and
instill fear.
"The police in
results. So we have to pick up and interrogate a lot of people. Sometimes things
get out of control," said Raghuraj Singh Chauhan, a newly assigned officer at
the station where Rajeev Sharma died. "After all, confessions cannot be
extracted with love. The fear of the police has to be kept alive -- how else
would you reduce crime?" he added, fanning himself with a police file folder.
A senior police officer in
torture methods with a visiting reporter. One technique, he said, involves a
two-foot-long rubber belt attached to a wooden handle.
"We call this thing samaj sudharak," the officer said, smiling, using the Hindi
phrase for social reformer. "When we hit with this, there are no fractures, no
blood, no major peeling of the skin. It is safe for us, as nothing shows up in
the postmortem report. But the pain is such that the person can only appeal to
God. He will confess to anything."
Last September, in a written ruling in a case of police misconduct, the Supreme
Court criticized the use of torture. "The dehumanizing torture, assault and
death in custody which have assumed alarming proportions raise serious questions
about the credibility of the rule of law and administration of the criminal
justice system," the court said. "The cry for justice becomes louder and
warrants immediate remedial measure."
In addition, the severity of the torture problem is probably worse than
statistics indicate, because victims, fearing reprisals, rarely report cases
against the police, human rights advocates said.
"About 40 percent of custodial torture cases are not even reported. They are
just grateful for God's mercy that they are alive and free," said Pradeep Kumar,
a human rights lawyer who has represented police torture victims in Uttar
Pradesh. "Torture sometimes leads to permanent disability, psychological trauma,
loss of faculties."
The National Human Rights Commission, led by a retired Supreme Court justice,
has faced criticism that it is too dependent on the government and lacks
enforcement power.
"We have not been able to build a human rights culture in the police force,"
said Shankar Sen, a former police officer and an ex-member of the commission.
"It is not only individual aberration but a matter of systemic failure."
The commission has ordered that cameras be installed in police stations to
monitor and deter police brutality.
"In the past year we have spent about $600,000 to equip most of the police
stations in
transparent and have a big impact on torture," said Maxwell Pereira, a senior
police official in the capital.
But critics and families of victims said they had not seen changes. In a
much-publicized case in
beating and killing Sushil Kumar Nama at a police station.
Nama had been detained on suspicion that he was working with neighborhood
gamblers. Four of the police officers were arrested in April, but one remains at
large, authorities said. Police officials denied that Nama was tortured, saying
he died of a heart attack after he was released from custody.
"My two children are so traumatized that now they run home scared every time
they see a policeman on the street," said Nama's wife, Rekha, 29. "They know
that danger lurks behind that uniform. They are not policemen, they are wolves."
On the wrong side of law
By Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Delhi
Chunchun Kumar
Chunchun Kumar's wound is still raw
For Chunchun Kumar of Bihar's Nawada district, it was just another evening as he
lounged around at a tea stall in his village along with a friend.
But, then something happened that changed his life.
"It was 17 March of this year. There were six of them. When we first saw them,
they were beating up the temple priest. He was lying on the ground, they were
kicking and punching him," Kumar says.
"Then they started hitting two other men. Then they came into the tea shop and
they beat us black and blue. Then they fired at us."
Kumar lifts up his shirt to show a bullet mark on his abdomen. The wound is
still oozing.
The perpetrators were no ordinary criminals.
Says Kumar, "They were all policemen. I don't know why they were angry. They
were all drunk, they were like drunk elephants, they went on a rampage."
The shocked villagers complained to the police authorities, and the offending
policemen were suspended from duty and arrested.
'Very serious'
Additional director general of police in
incident.
"Two of the policemen who were inebriated vandalised the tea shop and began
firing despite protests from their other colleagues. They were arrested and,
although they have been released on bail, they are facing criminal charges."
Kumar's fight for justice recently brought him to the Indian capital, Delhi,
where he narrated his story at
Torture.
Activists say torture by police is rampant in
"The problem of torture is very serious. Today we have around 1.8 million cases
of police torture each year in
NGO.
Policemen in
The police are often a law unto themselves, say campaigners
Mr Tiphagne says the victims mostly are from the poorer sections of society.
"They are generally the (low-caste) Dalits, the tribals and the Muslims. And
torture is used by those who are in power, those who possess, the landlords and
the companies who put pressure on the police to carry out torture," Mr Tiphagne
says.
Mr Anil Sinha says cases of human rights violations involving the police are
"exaggerated" by activists.
"It's a kind of stereotype being dished out by the NGOs and activists. And
because police have a bad reputation, so people take such allegations to be
correct.
"We do not condone any human rights violations by police in any manner, and such
cases are rare. We have a mechanism in place to deal with such cases and
penalise the guilty," Mr Sinha says.
Shankar Sen, a retired police officer and former member of the human rights
commission, says: "The policeman's work is very complex, there are pressure on
him to deliver results, the police are exposed to extraneous influences and
pressures."
But, he says, that does not condone torture. "It's illegal, and as a policeman I
know it doesn't work."
Mr Sen admits that police torture is prevalent. "Torture does take place, it's
very common, but it's unacceptable. Some allegations against the police are
shocking."
Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch says nearly every police station in
'Arbiter of justice'
In many parts of the country, she says, the situation is so bad that people will
not got to a police station to file a case fearing prosecution and retribution.
"There is this pattern of impunity. The fact that police believe they can get
away with it has added to the problem," Ms Ganguly says.
"The greater problem is that an average policeman believes himself to be the
arbiter of justice. Instead of going to the court, he himself is delivering
justice.
Arun Kumar with parents PP Raju and Lakshmi
Arun Kumar's mental age has been reduced to one year
"The policeman is not supposed to punish the criminal, he is supposed to catch
the criminal," she says.
For the victims of torture and their families, it is a long haul.
Arun Kumar of the southern city of
his employer suspected him of having an affair with his wife.
Kumar's parents, PP Raju and Lakshmi, say their family home was ransacked, Kumar
was taken to the police station where he was beaten up and tortured for days.
Unable to bear the pain and the trauma, Kumar drank pesticides in an attempt to
kill himself.
He survived, but his parents say their son's mental age has been reduced to one
year - he is on medication and requires constant care.
The guilty policeman was suspended for a week, but reinstated later. The family
has a long fight ahead of them.
'Deterrence'
Says Mr Tiphagne, "A case I initiated in 1981 ended in 2007 with the dismissal
of the officer. So I have hope in Arun Kumar's case too."
But, he says, this long wait can be a huge deterrence for even the most
determined.
Henri Tiphagne of People's Watch.
Mr Tiphagne says nearly 2 million cases of torture take place in
year
"The torture at the police station ends, but the torture of institutions
continues. It's more of a psychological and mental nature, it is very
challenging. Most people don't have the courage to withstand that, very few
survive that," Mr Tiphagne says.
So while the victims continue to live with the trauma, most of the perpetrators
get away.
They are also emboldened by the fact that
The country signed the UN Convention on Torture in 1997, but even 10 years
later, it has not ratified it.
"We have to change our culture. We have to create awareness that torture is
illegal. The civil society will have to get involved," says Meenakshi Ganguly.
"People will have to get past the fact that torture happens only to other
people. And once that happens, it will change," she says.
The first Prime Minister of
on a quadrilateral from where they can protect and also violate human rights?"
But it seems that his words are of no use in
enormous increase in the incidents of police torture during past few decades.
It is apparent that police is the largest agency constituted with the purpose of
establishing the rule of law and human rights. One can read into the Indian
Penal Code, with certain difficulty, the prohibition against torture. Statements
recorded from witnesses under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code are not
blindly admissible in a criminal trial. If the law is so, the next obvious
question is then why do the police resort to torture?
The main reasons are feudal and colonial structure of police, scarcity of
resources in the police department, political intervention and the lack of an
independent agency to investigate the crimes committed by the police themselves.
Modern investigation is unheard of within the police department. In addition,
The definition of torture as envisaged in the UN Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as an
"act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a
third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third
person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or
coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any
kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or
with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in
an official capacity."
Section 176 (A) of Cr.P.C. have provisions for the investigation in the each
case of custodial death. However, this section is not used in any case in the
entire Uttar Pradesh state. Neither have any Magistrates issued search warrants
under Section 97 of Cr.P.C. when persons were taken into illegal custody.
The Supreme Court of
law-enforcement officers at the time of arrest and questioning in the case D.K
Basu vs.
follow, but is been negated in the state. Regarding encounter killings, the
National Human Rights Commission has directed the country's police to register
cases in every case of reported encounter killings. The Commission has also
directed to send it a video of the post-mortem examination in each case of
custodial death. This also is not followed in the state and to the information
of the PVCHR anywhere in the country. The question than is what is the value of
the Supreme Court and the NHRC in the country?
There is a provision for interim relief to be awarded as compensation under
Section 19 of Human Right Act. Article 21 of Indian Constitution guarantees the
right to life with dignity, which is also against torture. But torture
continues unabated in the state. Do laws in the country have any meaning then?
If we look at the statistics, it is mostly the poor, the marginalised, the
Dalits and the members of the minority and backward communities are subjected to
torture. Those who have mafia gangs and known antisocial elements are not
victims of this, cruel practice other than some rare occasions. Only the
ordinary people are afraid of the police and the torture they practice. So does
have them?
Police along with the criminals have established the rule of the lords.
Corruption and discrimination are no more mere practices, but the second nature
of the police. Rule of law can be established without preventing police torture.
Let us come together to enlighten ourselves and fight against torture to stop it
and thus establish rule of law.
What you can do?
1) Protest on 26th June against the practice of torture by street plays,
organising discussions and sending letters to the Prime Minister, and through
press releases in newspapers condemning torture and inform us what you did;
2) Indian Government has signed the UN Convention in 1997 but has failed to
ratify it. Send letters to the Prime Minister and the President of India asking
them to require the government to accede the convention;
3) In protest of the cases of torture happening right under the nose of the
National Human Rights Commission, organise a protest in front of the Commission;
4) Write letters to the editor of publications condemning torture;
5) To sensitize the people about torture and its forms, take down cases that
you come across and send it to us so that we could follow it up on your behalf;
6) Write to the Supreme Court asking why its orders and guidelines are not
followed;
7) Write to the government urging the government to provide resources to the
police to function properly.
Thank you
Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi
Convener - PVCHR
SA 4/2 A, Daulatpur
221002Varanasi
Telephone: +91-9935599333
E-mail: pvchr.india@...
INDIA: Structural breakdown of the justice system must be addressed
The reports that appeared yesterday in the Indian media quoting 'informed
sources' that the Tamil Nadu state police has decided not to produce detainees
in courts exposes the extent to which the justice institutions have broken down
in India. According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 it is
the statutory duty of the state police to assist the courts in the country for
its day-to-day functioning. It is also mandatory for the police to produce the
detainees remanded to judicial custody before the courts, as and when required
by the courts. Any decision by the police, express or implied, against this
official duty must not go unpunished.
The decision of the Tamil Nadu state police is a wilful dereliction of official
responsibility, negation of judicial supremacy and the very function of the
police in maintaining law and order. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and
its sister concern the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have been
continuously reporting instances suggesting the systematic breakdown of rule of
law inIndia
police of Tamil Nadu to disregard the provisions of law, substantiates ALRC's
position that there are apparent and deep-rooted problems affecting the rule of
law inIndia
Lawyers engaged in professional misconduct, judges failing to perform duties and
police officers committing crimes, assaulting persons and destroying property
have become the defining characters of the justice dispensation system in the
country. The structural breakdown is apparent. Yet, instead of gearing up to
repair the ruptures, it appears that the government is forcing the people to get
used to the reality.
The approval by the Government ofIndia
Salwa Judum, in Chhattisgarh state, in the excuse of countering Naxalite
activities in that state is an example. Salwa Judum is nothing but an armed
mercenary group operating with impunity in Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh state
administration finds it convenient to arm a faction of organised civilians to
fight anti-state movements like the Naxalites. By promoting Salwa Judum, the
state is trying to absolve from its responsibility of maintaining law and order
in its territory.
The Government ofIndia
administration from continuing with the deployment of Salwa Judum, insisted yet
another state administration, the Manipur state government, to resort to similar
tactics in 2008. The same practice was implemented years ago in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir during the time of rightwing BJP led government in India
Neither inJammu and Kashmir
situation improved since then.
In the past two years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of
extra-judicial executions reported fromIndia
murders are referred to as 'encounter killings'. As of now, there is no legal
framework in the country by which an impartial enquiry and investigation is
possible in a case of encounter killing. The practice is, a superior officer and
later the court, accepts a report sent in by the police involved in the murder
and no further action is initiated. The murder is often rewarded by the
administration, so much so, there are more than three dozen 'encounter
specialists' serving as police officers in various parts of the country.
Impunity for the police to murder and the lack of punishment trivialises the
practice of custodial torture in the country. The practice of torture is
widespread and is accepted as an essential requirement for law enforcement.
On June 15 this year, the Speaker of theKerala State
K. Radhakrishnan, declared at the annual conference of police officers of the
state, that the use of third-degree methods by the state police cannot be
condemned. The Speaker during his keynote address argued that it is ridiculous
to insist that the police officers inIndia
him, it is difficult to do policing and respect human rights at the same time.
He made it clear that when the police investigate a crime, it is natural and
often required for the investigating officer to use torture to prove the case.
Among those listening to these remarks were the Director of theState Police
Training College
Breach of law by the law enforcement agencies in the country meets no bounds.
Corruption, nepotism and the disregard to the law flourish within state
agencies, particularly in the police. The society quiver under the writ of fear
when the law enforcement agents commit crimes with impunity. In spite of
repeated and legitimate requests from national and international human rights
groups and the thematic mandates holders of the UN like the Special Rapporteur
on the question of torture, the Government ofIndia
the practice of torture or to ratify the Convention against Torture.
In fact, the government has failed in implementing the directives of its own
Supreme Court. The directives of the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case are
yet to be implemented in the country. The implementation of the Court's
directives is important for improving the state of policing inIndia
of the issues concerning the police, including the practice of torture and
participation in crimes by the police officers, are carried out at the behest of
corrupt politicians in the country. Having a law against torture while the
ultimate writ above the police entrusted with a corrupt politician will not
improve policing inIndia
It is in this context that the protest called in by the Tamil Nadu state police
becomes relevant in exposing and addressing the situation of rule of law in
India
law shows the vacuum of authority in the country. The incident illuminates the
impunity that the police have enjoyed so far that they have now dared to openly
challenge judicial supremacy.
Instead of actively engaging in the situation, the Tamil Nadu state government
has allowed the police to continue with their follies. The police action on
February 19 inside the compound ofMadras
officers, lawyers, judges, court staff and ordinary persons is not of such
triviality that it could be resolved by a fast declared by the state Chief
Minister. The police-lawyer confrontation and the subsequent sequels of
non-cooperation between three important limbs of the justice dispensation system
of the country is not an issue that can be camouflaged with political gimmicks
and ignored.
The February 19 incident is the clarion call for intervention by a system, which
is left to breakdown and disintegrate. The subsequent protest orchestrated by
the state police refusing cooperation to the functioning of the judiciary is a
failure of the constitutional machinery that require a legitimate intervention
by the Government under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution. The failure of
the Government ofIndia to take affirmative actions to correct and revitalise
its criminal justice system poses legitimate challenges toIndia
the country's position in the UN Human Rights Council.
The reports that appeared yesterday in the Indian media quoting 'informed
sources' that the Tamil Nadu state police has decided not to produce detainees
in courts exposes the extent to which the justice institutions have broken down
in India. According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 it is
the statutory duty of the state police to assist the courts in the country for
its day-to-day functioning. It is also mandatory for the police to produce the
detainees remanded to judicial custody before the courts, as and when required
by the courts. Any decision by the police, express or implied, against this
official duty must not go unpunished.
The decision of the Tamil Nadu state police is a wilful dereliction of official
responsibility, negation of judicial supremacy and the very function of the
police in maintaining law and order. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and
its sister concern the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have been
continuously reporting instances suggesting the systematic breakdown of rule of
law in
police of Tamil Nadu to disregard the provisions of law, substantiates ALRC's
position that there are apparent and deep-rooted problems affecting the rule of
law in
Lawyers engaged in professional misconduct, judges failing to perform duties and
police officers committing crimes, assaulting persons and destroying property
have become the defining characters of the justice dispensation system in the
country. The structural breakdown is apparent. Yet, instead of gearing up to
repair the ruptures, it appears that the government is forcing the people to get
used to the reality.
The approval by the Government of
Salwa Judum, in Chhattisgarh state, in the excuse of countering Naxalite
activities in that state is an example. Salwa Judum is nothing but an armed
mercenary group operating with impunity in Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh state
administration finds it convenient to arm a faction of organised civilians to
fight anti-state movements like the Naxalites. By promoting Salwa Judum, the
state is trying to absolve from its responsibility of maintaining law and order
in its territory.
The Government of
administration from continuing with the deployment of Salwa Judum, insisted yet
another state administration, the Manipur state government, to resort to similar
tactics in 2008. The same practice was implemented years ago in the state of
Neither in
situation improved since then.
In the past two years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of
extra-judicial executions reported from
murders are referred to as 'encounter killings'. As of now, there is no legal
framework in the country by which an impartial enquiry and investigation is
possible in a case of encounter killing. The practice is, a superior officer and
later the court, accepts a report sent in by the police involved in the murder
and no further action is initiated. The murder is often rewarded by the
administration, so much so, there are more than three dozen 'encounter
specialists' serving as police officers in various parts of the country.
Impunity for the police to murder and the lack of punishment trivialises the
practice of custodial torture in the country. The practice of torture is
widespread and is accepted as an essential requirement for law enforcement.
On June 15 this year, the Speaker of the
K. Radhakrishnan, declared at the annual conference of police officers of the
state, that the use of third-degree methods by the state police cannot be
condemned. The Speaker during his keynote address argued that it is ridiculous
to insist that the police officers in
him, it is difficult to do policing and respect human rights at the same time.
He made it clear that when the police investigate a crime, it is natural and
often required for the investigating officer to use torture to prove the case.
Among those listening to these remarks were the Director of the
Breach of law by the law enforcement agencies in the country meets no bounds.
Corruption, nepotism and the disregard to the law flourish within state
agencies, particularly in the police. The society quiver under the writ of fear
when the law enforcement agents commit crimes with impunity. In spite of
repeated and legitimate requests from national and international human rights
groups and the thematic mandates holders of the UN like the Special Rapporteur
on the question of torture, the Government of
the practice of torture or to ratify the Convention against Torture.
In fact, the government has failed in implementing the directives of its own
Supreme Court. The directives of the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case are
yet to be implemented in the country. The implementation of the Court's
directives is important for improving the state of policing in
of the issues concerning the police, including the practice of torture and
participation in crimes by the police officers, are carried out at the behest of
corrupt politicians in the country. Having a law against torture while the
ultimate writ above the police entrusted with a corrupt politician will not
improve policing in
It is in this context that the protest called in by the Tamil Nadu state police
becomes relevant in exposing and addressing the situation of rule of law in
law shows the vacuum of authority in the country. The incident illuminates the
impunity that the police have enjoyed so far that they have now dared to openly
challenge judicial supremacy.
Instead of actively engaging in the situation, the Tamil Nadu state government
has allowed the police to continue with their follies. The police action on
February 19 inside the compound of
officers, lawyers, judges, court staff and ordinary persons is not of such
triviality that it could be resolved by a fast declared by the state Chief
Minister. The police-lawyer confrontation and the subsequent sequels of
non-cooperation between three important limbs of the justice dispensation system
of the country is not an issue that can be camouflaged with political gimmicks
and ignored.
The February 19 incident is the clarion call for intervention by a system, which
is left to breakdown and disintegrate. The subsequent protest orchestrated by
the state police refusing cooperation to the functioning of the judiciary is a
failure of the constitutional machinery that require a legitimate intervention
by the Government under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution. The failure of
the Government of
its criminal justice system poses legitimate challenges to
the country's position in the UN Human Rights Council.
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