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INDIA: Local police assault an innocent person; force him to carry human excreta and register a false case against him

February 23, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

23 February 2006
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UA-069-2006: INDIA: Local police assault an innocent person; force him to carry human excreta and register a false case against him

INDIA: Torture; Inhuman and degrading treatment; fabrication of charges
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the assault of an innocent person by the local police from Maleshwaramangalam, Thrissur District, Kerala state, India. Mr. Mohanan, son of Chinna, residing at Anappara House, Maleshamangalam, Thiruvilwamala in Thrissur District, Kerala was assaulted by Sub Inspector of Police (SI) V. Hamsa, along with four other police constables (PCs), including PC Babu, from Pazayanoor police station, Thrissur District. After beating up Mr. Mohanan, the police officers threw him into a police jeep, where Mr. Mohanan lost consciousness due to the pain and urinated and defecated inside the police jeep.  The higher police officers of the district have admitted the incident and an inquiry into the case has been initiated. However, SI Hamsa has now allegedly registered a false case against Mr. Mohanan implicating him as a suspect in a case of theft. This has reportedly been done to justify why he and his team took Mr. Mohanan into custody and to put pressure upon Mr. Mohanan to withdraw his complaint.

At approximately 2 am on February 10, 2006, Mr. Mohanan was helping some workers who were drilling a bore well at Maleshamangalam. SI Hamsa, and several police constables, including PC Babu, came to the site. None of the officers were in uniform. SI Hamsa allegedly flashed his flashlight in Mr. Mohanan's face. Without realizing that SI Hamsa is a police officer, Mr. Mohanan asked SI Hamsa who he was to be shining a light in his face. SI Hamsa reacted violently to this, by shouting at Mr. Mohanan and asked PC Babu to immobilize Mr. Mohanan from behind. Then SI Hamsa assaulted Mr. Mohanan. The other police constables all then joined in, beating him on his spine and all over his body.

Mr. Mohanan soon lost consciousness and was then thrown into the police jeep. The police constables got into the jeep and left with Mr. Mohanan. On the way they continued assaulting Mr. Mohanan, as a result of which he urinated and defecated in the jeep. SI Hamsa stopped the jeep and ordered Mr. Mohanan, who had regained consciousness, to clean the jeep. One of the PCs had also vomited inside the jeep as a result of the smell. Since there was nothing available in the jeep to clean the mess, Mr. Mohanan was told to look around for some waste paper or plantain leaf, but could not find any.  SI Hamsa then ordered the constables to force Mr. Mohanan to eat the mess inside the jeep. Mr. Mohanan pleaded with the police officers, who allowed him instead to clean the mess with his bare hands.

Once Mr. Mohanan had finished cleaning the jeep, he was allowed to go. Mr. Mohanan later filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Palakkad District, describing the entire incident. On receipt of the complaint, the Superintendent of Police transferred SI Hamsa and PC Babu from Pazayanoor police station and ordered a departmental inquiry into the entire incident. However, before the transfer, SI Hamsa registered a false charge against Mr. Mohanan, alleging that he is suspected of involvement in a theft case.

In India, the police is notorious for assaulting innocent persons and there is no effective law to prevent custodial torture. Although there are various judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of India condemning torture as the most inhuman act, India is yet to criminalize torture. The remedy available for anyone who alleges torture is to be sought through these courts, which take years to decide on cases. Cases are frequently not admitted into courts at the early stages of investigation because, ironically, the courts often hold that 'the law needs to take its own course'.

In the absence of any independent mechanism to investigate cases of alleged custodial torture, the most common reaction by the authorities in India is to order a departmental inquiry into the case, as has happened here. The departmental inquiry is always conducted without giving an opportunity for the complainant/victim to be heard, whereas the officers under inquiry enjoy complete freedom to influence the inquiring officer. Such inquiring officers are often former superior officers of the alleged perpetrators, or may also be facing similar allegations of torture themselves, making a mockery of the entire inquiry procedure. Punishment for such offences under this system is often limited to a transfer, or in very rare cases, to an entry in the service records.

The victims are therefore left with no effective remedy against the brutal violations committed against them. However, the Government of India has thus far refused to ratify the Convention against Torture, which it has signed, on the ground that domestic mechanisms available in India are effective in preventing custodial torture. The AHRC has brought numerous cases of a similar nature to the attention of the Government of India and various other authorities, including the Human Rights Commissions in India. However, none of these cases have been taken up by the Indian authorities, in violation of the victims' right to effective remedies.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the concerned local authorities listed below calling for a prompt and impartial investigation to be completed into the abuses committed against Mr. Mohanan. Please ask that all police officers found to have committed the alleged abuses be immediately expelled from the police force and prosecuted for their grave actions, and for the victim to receive adequate compensation for his suffering. Please also call for the fabricated case against Mr. Mohanan to be dropped immediately, in the absence of any valid legal charges against him.

Sample letter:

Dear__________,

INDIA: Local police assault an innocent person, make him carry human excreta and register a false case against him

Name of victim: Mr. Mohanan, son of Chinna, residing at Anappara House, Maleshamangalam, Thiruvilwamala of Thrissur District, Kerala, India

Alleged perpetrators:
(1) Mr. Hamsa, Sub-Inspector of Police, Pazayanoor police station, Palakad District, Kerala, India
(2) Mr. Babu, Police Constable and three other police constables attached to the Pazayanoor police station
Place of incident: Maleshamangalam, Thiruvilwamala, Palakad District, Kerala, India.

Date of incident: 10 February 2006

I am writing to voice my grave concerns about the torture and inhuman treatment of Mr. Mohanan by Sub-Inspector (SI) Hamsa and four other police constables (PCs), including PC Babu, from the Pazayanoor police station.

According to the information that I have received, Mr. Mohanan, an innocent labourer, was assaulted by these police officers when he questioned why plain-clothed SI Hamsa had shone his flashlight in his face while Mr. Mohanan was helping to drill a bore well. I am shocked by the fact that Mr. Mohanan lost consciousness as a result of the violent beating he received, causing him to urinate and defecate in the police jeep in which he was being transported. I have been informed that Mr. Mohanan was initially going to be forced to eat the excreta in the police jeep and was subsequently forced to clean the jeep with his bare hands.

It is alleged that following a complaint about the incident that Mr. Mohanan lodged with the higher police authorities, the perpetrators have been transferred and a departmental inquiry has been ordered into the incident. However, it is alleged that the departmental inquiry is likely to exonerate the police officers and therefore deny any possibility for the victim to have his grievances redressed. I am also informed that in order to put pressure upon the victim to withdraw his complaint, the police have also registered a false case against him.

I therefore call upon you to immediately intervene in this case to make sure that the departmental inquiry currently underway is held in an impartial and prompt manner. The victim must be allowed to present his case as part of the investigation, either in person or through a representative. I also call upon you to independently inquire into the alleged fabrication of a theft charge against the victim and drop it in the absence of valid legal charges against him. I further urge you to suspend the police officers involved in the case from service, pending the completion of the inquiry into this incident. If found guilty of the allegations, the involved police officers should be expelled from the police force and prosecuted for the grave acts they have committed.

I request you to make sure that the victim is offered the best possible medical assistance to treat his injuries and also to pay the victim an interim compensation for the injuries he has suffered.

Yours sincerely,

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SEND A LETTER TO:

Mr. Raman Srivastava, IPS
Director General and Inspector General of Police Kerela Police Headquarters Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum Kerala INDIA
Tel: 91-471-2721547
Fax: 91-471-2729434
Email: kp@kerelapolice.org

PLEASE SEND A COPY TO:

1. Mr. Oommen Chandy
Chief Minister
North Block, Secretariat,
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
INDIA
Tel: 91-471- 2333812/ 2333682
Fax: 91-471-2333489
Email: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in

2. Justice A.S.Anand
The Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg New Delhi 110001 INDIA
Tel: +91-11 23382742
Fax: +91-11 23384863
Email: covdnhrc@nic.in, ionhrc@nic.in

3. Shri. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
President of India
Rashtrapathi Bhavan
New Delhi - 110001
INDIA
Tel: +91 11 23015321
Fax: +91 11 23017290 / 23017824
E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

4. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme (ua@ahrchk.org)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-069-2006
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.