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Editor : Nagaraj.M.R.........................vol.2 issue.39.......................................09/12/2006
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Editorial : ATROCITIES ON DALITS IN
-Inequalities , double standards by government of
in the recent past in
Just on the eve of babasaheb’s death anniversary , all the accussed in the kambalapalli dalit massacre , Karnataka were let free , by the court. What type of justice is this ?
Now take for instance TADA cases , in Karnataka-tamilnadu border forest area forest brigand veerappan was looting forest resources. Police failed for long to apprehend him , to cover-up their own inefficiencies police simply used to round-up grownups on one pretext or the other. You must remember that there was no terrorism in that area still TADA provisions were invoked , innocents tribals , dalits were tortured by police . they filed TADA cases on grounds like you have supplied food , you have stitched veerappan’s clothes, etc. these acts even if true does not amount to terrorism.
On the other side ,
Bottomline : if you are a rich crook in
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
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3RD DEGREE TORTURE PERPETRATED BY POLICE IN
- Gross violations of human rights by police
At the outset , HRW 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.
On “world human rights day”(
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.
LEGAL IMMUNITY VS LEGAL PROSECUTION
We at HRW , have highest regard & respects for the honest few in public service & parliament. It is only due to the sincere efforts of those honest few , wheel of democracy is turning in
In democratic
Hereby , we urge the GOI & all state governments to answer the following questions :
1) how many present MPs , MLAs are facing criminal charges ? how many in the past year wise ?what type ?
2) how many MPs , MLAs are absconders in police records , but are very much present in the house ?
3) how impartiality of investigations is ensured in such cases ?
4) why brain mapping , lie detector tests , etc are not used on such tainted public servants to elicit truth , instead of forming committees , CBI enquiry which takes years spending crores finally returning empty handed ?
5) how many MPs , MLAs , film stars , sports persons have attended parties hosted by anti-national dawood ibrahim abroad ?
6) how wealth growth of public servants is monitored ?
7) what action has been taken about former union minister mr.subramaniam swamy’s complaint that late prime minister rajiv gandhi’s family received funds from foreign intelligence agency ?
8) what action about KGB officer mitrokhin’s revelation in his book that , highest persons in GOI were working for foreign intelligence outfits ? are they still ?
9) what action about former union minister mr.natwar singh’s complaint of a leak in PMO which leaked out
10) how many MPs , MLAs occupied offices of profit prior to recent amendment to the same section ? yearwise ?
11) why all of them were not disqualified from the membership of the house ?
12) how you monitor MPs , MLAs of foreign origin or having spouses of foreign origin or having foreign friends , acquaintances while in
13) how many bills passed by the parliament / state legislatures approved by the president / governors are pending enforcement due to delay in gazette notification ? year wise ? delay ?
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More than 70% of the Indians are being left behind and ignored in
The primary institutions responsible for promoting, protecting and fulfilling human rights include the courts and other elements of the justice delivery system, such as the police and the prosecution department. All three establishments and their performances during this year in safeguarding human rights in
In addition, the higher courts have now started shifting from a broader approach to a much narrower one concerning human rights. This is true particularly in the case of the right to adequate housing. Several mass-demolitions were executed by the government, with the seal of approval of the courts in 2006. The massive demolition of slums in
Policing in
While law enforcement officers continue to enjoy impunity, the initiatives taken by the Supreme Court of India in its decision in the Prakash Singh & Others v. Union of India and Others case, are now effectively being sabotaged by the protracted implementation of the directives of the Court by the government. In its decision, the Court had observed that the government must take immediate measures to address complaints against police officers, and to put mechanisms in place to reduce the political influence being exerted on the policing system. The Court relied upon the reports of earlier commissions and the National Human Rights Commission to conclude that the government must immediately take appropriate steps to address the issues that reduce policing in
This attempt by the government to retain the unchallenged control of the police has also been reflected in the increase of deaths from starvation in
Courts and public prosecutors depend upon the local police in order to ensure the successful prosecution of a human rights violation case. The fear that the local police have injected into ordinary persons, through the widespread use of torture and violence, allied with the ineptitude of the public prosecutors¡¦ office to conduct a proper prosecution, and decades of delays in courts, have alienated such persons from the justice dispensation mechanisms in the country. Support mechanisms such as the human rights commissions also depend upon the local police to investigate cases of human rights violations. This dependency combined with the police's poor image has negatively affected the trust that ordinary persons have concerning these mechanisms.
Discrimination based on caste is yet another issue that the government has failed to address. Caste-based discrimination continues unabated in
Experiences gained during 2006 reiterated that protection and promotion of human rights can only become a reality if the justice delivery mechanism in the country becomes trustworthy and reasonable. Reforms to the existing system must begin with the halting of the culture of impunity currently being enjoyed by members of the law enforcement agencies. There must also be positive and immediate steps taken to address long delays to court cases. If these two issues are ignored any further, the situation of the rule of law will further deteriorate in
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APPEALS TO HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER OF
Appeal no.1
Dear sir ,
Victims who are identified:
1. Mr. Shyamapada Shit, a cultivator of Dhaniakhali in
I am deeply concerned by the police’s brutal attack on unarmed peaceful protesters near Sheoraphully Railway Station,
According to the information I have received, at around
I have been informed that the police indiscriminately attacked the protesters with lathis. As a result, several protesters and media personnel were severely injured. They include; Mr. Shyamapada Shit, a cultivator of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, Ms. Swapna Sarkar of Kolkata, Ms. Gayetri Roy of Tollygunge, Mr. Upen Koilya, a cameraman of Tara News channel, Mr. Jyotirmoy Basu, a cameraman of ETV channel and 12 other protesters.
The police forces that were reportedly at the scene are from the Srirampur police station area in
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge their strong intervention in this matter. Please ask them to bring those responsible for attacking the protesters to justice, respect the Sinpur peasants' land rights and provide adequate rehabilitation programme to the affected people.
I am deeply concerned that this incident took place following the December 2 brutal attack on peaceful peasants by the police regarding the same matter at Singur. It has been alleged that even elderly women and children were indiscriminately beaten and arrested with serious criminal charges, going completely against the norms that have been established under the law.
Such brutal police acts are in clear violation of the freedom of assembly and expression that is guaranteed by the Constitution of India as well as the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I therefore strongly urge you to inquire about this matter and take action against those police officers responsible for inflicting indiscriminate violence against peaceful protesters and journalists. I also urge you to ensure that an independent inquiry is also conducted into the December 2 incident and that the cases against the villagers who were arrested are unconditionally withdrawn.
I am also concerned about the forced eviction of the poor peasants in Singur area. In this regards, I request that you use your official capacity to ensure that the Government of India respects the Sinpur peasants' land rights and provides adequate rehabilitation programmes to the affected people.
I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
Appeal no.2
Dear Sir,
Name of victims:
1) Jhuma Patra, daughter of Mr. Ashok Patra; aged 12; resident of Ghaser Veri village, Hooghly district, West Bengal; student of class V in Naraharipara Primary School
2) Soma Dhara, daughter of Sanyasi Dhara of the same village
3) Mr. Shyamal Ghosh, son of Sibram Ghosh
4) Mr. Uday Ghosh, son of Madan Mohan Ghosh
5) Mr. Birat Mlik, son of Late Gokul Malik
6) Mr. Tushar Kanti Karmakar, son of Late Jugal Kishore Karmakar
7) Mr. Prabir Ghosh, son of Manik Ch Ghosh
8) Mr. Swapan Santra, son of Balai Chandra Santra
9) Mr. Amal Das, son of Narendra Nath Das
10) Mr. Sanat Sheet, son of Bhadreswar Sheet
11) Mr. Swarup Patra, son of Baidyanath Patra
12) Naba Kumar Bag, son of Gokul Chandra Bag
13) Rangta Munshi, 14) Gargi Sengupta, 15) Swapna Banerjee, 16) Chaitali Bhattacharjee, 17) Dipali Moitra, 18) Sankari Koley, 19) Champa Poila, 20) Padma Dey, 21) Tapasi Das, 22) Sakuntala Das, 23) Shyamali Das, 24) Sabitri Patra, 25) Sabitri Das, 26) Soma Dhara, 27) Lakshmi patra, 28) Jhuma Patra, 29) Sandhya Patra, 30) Pratima Dey, 31) Mr. Dilip Das, aged 44, 32) Mr. Mrityunjoy Patra, aged 52, 33) Mr. Tapan Batabyal, aged 53, 34) Mr. Bilas Sarkar, aged 26
(*Victims from no. 3 to no. 34 are residents of villages; Singur, Beraberi, Ghaser Veri and other adjoining villages in Hooghly district, West Bengal
Alleged perpetrators: Personnel's of state police force and rapid action force (RPF)
Date of incident: 2 December 2006
I am extremely concerned regarding the brutal assault on peaceful peasants by the police while they were protesting against forcible acquisition of their land for an automobile project. It has been alleged that even elderly women and children were beaten indiscriminately and arrested under serious criminal offences. I am outraged since this is completely against the norms established by the law.
To briefly remind you about the case, the peasants of village Singur and other affected villages had long been opposing the forcible acquisition of their land to establish a 'small car' factory by TATA group. They were camping at Beraberi, Ghaser Veri and other nearby villages in order to protest the government's hijacking of the fertile and multi-crop producing area.
On
It has been alleged that female detainees were mercilessly beaten by the police who also used abusive language. It has also been alleged that the female detainees were manhandled, molested and sexually abused by the male police officers. Even the water supplied by the police could not be used since it was dirty and unfit for human consumption. It has also been alleged that not a single memo of arrest has been prepared against the detainees even though it is a mandatory requirement under law.
I have been informed that the entire incident at Singur that happened on
The citizens of a free country like
I have been informed that several international covenants and norms have been shown scant regard by the
It never appeared in the Singur incident, that the state government, which has an obligation to protect, promote and fulfill human rights, had ever cared for a moment about the rights of the villagers who were forcefully evicted. The villagers were treated as if they had no value in the grand scheme of plans. The ordinary villager was thrown to the ground and had to face the gun wielding and baton charges of a 6000 strong armed force which no doubt turned Singur into a battle field.
I strongly condemn the forceful eviction of the poor peasants from their land and demand that every affected peasant family should be given adequate compensation and employment guarantees to ensure the peaceful acquisition of their land. I also demand that an independent inquiry should be set up immediately to look into the incident of brutal violence, with action taken against those police officers and personnel of the RPF who are found responsible for inflicting indiscriminate violence against peaceful villagers including women and children. Furthermore, I strongly demand that the cases against the villagers who were arrested are unconditionally withdrawn.
I look forward to your urgent intervention on this matter.
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
Appeal no.3
Dear Sir,
Name of victims:
1. Mrs. Soma Giri, daughter of Mr. Sasthi Giri, residing in Palpara within the jurisdiction of Jagacha police station in Howarh district, West Bengal state, India (arbitrarily taken into police custody)
2. Mrs. Giri's 2 and a half days old girl child (died in police custody)
Alleged perpetrators: Officers attached to the Jagacha police station
Date of incident:
I am extremely disturbed to learn about the death of a two-day old baby after she was arbitrarily detained along with her mother at the Jagacha police station in Howarh district,
I then was told that on the same day, Ms. Soma's parents went to the Jagacha police station and filed a complaint against Mr. Sanatan Mudi (alias Santanu) regarding the alleged rape of their daughter. Subsequently on November 28, the case was registered (case no. 207) under section 376 (Punishment for rape) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. Sanatan was then later arrested that same day.
Then on the evening of November 28, Jagacha police brought Ms. Soma along with her baby to the police station and inquired about the alleged rape case. The police detained her and her newborn baby overnight without reason and kept them outside of the lock-up area. Later in the night the baby began to cry due to the cold; however, the police did not provide any blankets or other materials to keep the infant warm. When the child finally stopped crying, Ms. Soma discovered that her baby had died. The next morning, the police brought the baby to
I have also learned that the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Jagacha police station claims that they had to detain Ms. Soma and the baby because they wanted to perform a DNA test in order to identify the child's father. However, such police claims do not justify such harsh treatment against an infant or explain why they needed to detain the young family overnight.
I am deeply concerned by the authority's action since they have clearly violated Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC) which strictly prohibits the police from detaining any women or person below the age of 15 at a police station without a warrant. It is evident that the Jagacha police brought the mother and infant to the police station without any judicial order.
I also know that Section 176 of Cr PC states that when any person dies in the police custody, the concerned judicial magistrate is empowered to hold an enquiry into the cause of death. Until now, no such inquiry has been initiated in this respect. Also, an autopsy has not been conducted, which is in violation of the guidelines made by the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) that clearly affirm the importance of performing an autopsy that is conducted by an expert and that is also video graphed.
In light of the above, I strongly urge that you immediately intervene in this matter. I ask that you appoint an independent investigating authority to enquire into the role of Jagacha police. If it is proven that the police have violated the procedure of law, legal action must be taken against the officers allegedly responsible, including the Officer- in Charge of Jagacha police station.
Furthermore, to ensure the impartiality of the inquiry and the safety of Soma's family, the officers allegedly involved in this case should be suspended immediately during the investigation process. I also ask that a competent and independent post-mortem is conducted on the infant without further delay. Finally, Ms. Soma must be adequately compensated for this unnecessary and extremely traumatic experience.
I look forward to hearing about your urgent intervention into this case.
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R
Appeal no.4
Dear sir ,
Name of victim: Mrs. Gouri Naskar, aged 35, the wife of Mr. Sushil Naskar, resided in Tentulpara, Naskarpara, Garia village under Sonarpura Police station in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal state, India
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Bholanath Naskar, Mr. Sushil Naskar's uncle
2. Mr. Tabal Naskar, the son of Bholanath Naskar
3. Mr. Swapan Naskar, the son of Bholanath Naskar
4. Mr. Bapi Naskar, the son of Bholanath Naskar
(All of them are residing in Tentulpara, Naskarpara, Garia village)
Date of incident: At around
I am extremely disturbed to learn regarding the gross negligence of government hospitals and police inaction regarding a serious attack on the life of a woman. I have been informed that several government hospitals refused to provide emergency medical treatment to the seriously injured victim, which resulted into her untimely death. It has also been alleged that the local police apparently delayed to file a non-bailable charge against the alleged perpetrators despite the victim's relative's complaint and indirectly helped them to be bailed out by the court. It is believed that the police inaction is due to the nexus between the police and the alleged perpetrators, who are rich and influential figures in the area.
To briefly remind the case, Mrs. Gouri Naskar had a longstanding dispute regarding a piece of land with her husband's cousin family. On
I was informed that Mrs. Gouri was brought to different government hospitals but none of these hospitals admitted her for emergency medical treatment although she was in critical condition that needs urgent medical treatment. The concerned hospitals are; Bangur Hospital of Kolkata, Chittaranjan Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, National Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and S.S.K.M. Hospital, Kolkata. Finally Mrs. Gouri was succumbed to her head injury on August 14.
Such grass negligence of government hospitals is against the directions laid in the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Paschim Bangal Khet Mazdoor Samity and others Vs State of Bengal. In the judgment, the Supreme Court clearly mentioned that "failure on the part of the government hospital to provide timely medical treatment to a person in need of such treatment results in violation of his 'right to life' guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution".
I am also deeply concerned by deliberate police inaction into this matter. I was informed that even though the victim's sister-in-law lodged a complaint against the alleged perpetrators mentioned above on August 10 (FIR no. 260/06 dated 10/08/06 under section of 324/34 of IPC), the Sonarpura police did not take any initiatives to investigate the incident and arrest the alleged perpetrators. They did not even visit the incident place. Sections 324 is about "voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means" and section 34 is about "acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention".
I was also informed that the Sonarpura police, in particular the Investing Officer (IO) of this case Mr. A Laskar, deliberately delayed to add a non-bailable charge (section 304 of IPC) against the perpetrators in the Charge Sheet for 46 days after the victim's death. I was informed that when the police finally added this section into the charge sheet on September 30, meanwhile, taking advantage of apparently delayed police action, the alleged perpetrators became successful to get bail from the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Alipore on September 12. They are now arrogantly intimidating the victim’s family not to pursue the case against them.
I was also informed that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC),
In light of the above, I strongly call for your immediate intervention into this matter. I urge you to appoint independent investigating authority to enquire the role of Investing Officer (IO) of Sonarpura Police Station for delaying the action against the perpetrators. If it is proven that the police inaction is due to the corruption, strong action must be taken those responsible. I also urge you to take proper action to arrest the alleged perpetrators and also inquire about the alleged intimidation on the victim's family by these people. I also urge you to initiate an extensive enquiry about the alleged negligence of government hospitals mentioned above which resulted into victim's death. Proper departmental and legal action must be laid against hospital staff responsible for such negligence. I also urge you to ensure that adequate compensation is given to the victim family.
I look for your urgent intervention into this case.
Your’s sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
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