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INDIA: A Dalit youth brutally tortured whilst in police custody at the Njarackal Police Station

November 4, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

4 November 2004
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UA-147-2004: INDIA: A Dalit youth brutally tortured whilst in police custody at the Njarackal Police Station

INDIA: Illegal detention; Torture; Inhuman and degrading treatment
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of a Dalit youth, called Sharavanan, by police officers attached to the Njarackal Police Station between 22 September 2004 and 30 September 2004.  The victim was detained on 22 September 2004, following a complaint lodged against him, regarding the theft of a fishing boat. It is alleged that the police also tried to implicate the victim in the other theft cases.

While he was illegally detained for eight days at the Njarackal Police Station, he was constantly subjected to severe torture including repeated beatings to the chest, back, stomach and head. The victim also suffered inhuman and degrading treatment, with police officers forcing urine into his mouth. As a result of the torture, the victim is now in hospital in a serious condition, having shown no sign of improvement since being admitted.

Local Dalit groups lodged a complaint, on behalf of the victim, to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, the Dalit Commission, the Chief Minister of Kerala, and the Director General of Police.  To date, no action has been taken. Your urgent action is required to request the authorities to take corrective actions into this matter.  

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Sharavanan, 24 years old, a casual labourer belonging to Dalit community, resident of Kalathithara house, Valiyavattom, Njarackal P.O., Ernakulam District, Kerala, India
Alleged Perpetrators: 1) Sub Inspector (S.I.) Sajeeve K.M. of the Njarackal Police Station, 2) probationary S.I. Anilkumar of the Njarackal Police Station, 3) Four other police constables attached to the Njarackal Police Station, Ernakulam District., Kerala (can be identified by the victim when be seen)
Date of illegal arrest and torture: From 22 September 2004 to 30 September 2004
Police station involved: Njarackal Police Station

Case details: (According to the victim's account)

In late August, the victim, Sharavanan, had a dispute with his fellow men who had committed wrongs against him. In retaliation, he had untied a country-boat which belonged to one of his opponents, Manoj, son of Madhavan, who later lodged a complaint against Sharavanan alleging him of stealing his fishing boat.

Consequently Sharavanan was arrested from his worksite on 22 September 2004 by two police constables from the Njarackal Police Station. The constables took the victim to their station where Sharavanan was produced before the Sub Inspector Sajeeve K.M. who interrogated him regarding the theft of a boat.  The victim admitted he untied the boat, however denied stealing the boat. When the victim told the police this, the Sub Inspector, Sajeev, became furious and hit the victim with great force in the chest.  Sharavanan fell to the floor from the impact and remained unconscious for approximately 5 hours.

Later that evening (on 22 September), the probationary Sub-Inspector Anilkumar arrived at the police station and began torturing the victim whilst pressuring him to confess to the theft of the boat.  With the victim still denying any role in the boat's disappearance, Anilkumar together with the help of four police constables from the station, continued to torture the victim until the early hours of the following morning (23 September). 

Anilkumar also tried to implicate the victim in the other theft case and began pressuring him to confess to the theft of a sword from the local Hindu temple, which had gone missing a few days earlier.  Sharavanan pleaded that he had no knowledge of the sword, but Anilkumar did not listen.  Instead, the probationary Sub-Inspector became even more furious and proceeded to chain Sharavanan's hands from behind.  He then continued to torture the victim, beating him from the front and back, with the assistance of other policemen.  Anilkumar repeatedly punched the victim in the stomach and made many forcible hits to the victim's chest, back and head.  At the same time, two police constables were pushing the victim about, and were slapping and hitting him on the head and face.

At this point, the victim was no longer capable of standing up.  As he lay on the floor, a police constable forced a mug of urine into the victim's mouth.  Following this, another constable began whipping the victim's feet with a long cane.

The police kept Sharavanan in illegal custody for eight days. During his detention, the victim was beaten every day with a new cane, with the previous one having been reduced to pieces, and had urine forced into his mouth on four separate occasions.  The police also took photos of Sharavanan with different items that they accused him of stealing in separate incidences. 

On 30 September 2004, the victim was taken to the local government hospital at Njarackal, and was transferred to the General Hospital at Ernakulam on 5 October 2004, due to the severity of his injuries.  The victim remains in hospital and is unable to move his body, has suffered serious damage to his organs, is unable to urinate, is passing blood and has had his vision impaired.  He is also suffering from fear and anxiety due to his 8 days of detention, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment. 

Official complaints have been forwarded by local Dalit groups on behalf of the victim, to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, the Dalit Commission, the Chief Minister of Kerala, and the Director General of Police.  To date, no action has been taken.

AHRC strongly urges the relevant authorities to investigate this case.  The brutality of the torture inflicted upon the victim, together with the inhuman and degrading treatment he had to endure, are gross violations of law and human rights standards.  Furthermore, the police have tried to implicate the victim to other incidences and the charges they have laid against him, show evidence of fabrication.

Incidences of such gross violations of law and human rights violations happen regularly in India.  AHRC urges the Indian government to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and to introduce corresponding domestic legislation to prevent state agencies from committing such human rights violations.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax, or an e-mail to the addresses below to express your concern about this case.

Sample letter:

________________


Dear ________,

Re: INDIA: A Dalit youth brutally tortured whilst in police custody at the Njarackal Police Station

Name of the victim: Sharavanan, 24 years old, a casual labourer belonging to Dalit community, resident of Kalathithara house, Valiyavattom, Njarackal P.O., Ernakulam District, Kerala, India
Alleged Perpetrators: 1) Sub Inspector (S.I.) Sajeeve K.M. of the Njarackal Police Station, 2) probationary S.I. Anilkumar of the Njarackal Police Station, 3) Four other police constables attached to the Njarackal Police Station, Ernakulam District., Kerala
Date of illegal arrest and torture: From 22 September 2004 to 30 September 2004
Police station involved: Njarackal Police Station
 
I am deeply concerned by allegations of police torture and the illegal detention of a Dalit youth, Sharavanan, by police officers from the Njarackal Police Station.  Due to the brutal torture inflicted by these police officers, the victim now suffers from serious internal injuries, together with psychological fear and anxiety. The severity of the torture inflicted upon the victim, together with the inhuman and degrading treatment he had to endure, are gross violations of law and human rights standards.  As a result of the police's brutality, the victim had to be hospitalised, where he continues to receive treatment for the injuries he suffered. The police have tried to implicate the victim to other incidences and the charges they have laid against him, show evidence of fabrication.  The victim was also detained for a period of 8 days in violation of domestic law, which requires arrested persons, to be produced before a magistrate court within 24 hours following their arrest.  

I strongly urge you to immediately look into this matter and take disciplinary/legal action against those police officers responsible for this act of brutal torture.  I also urge you to provide full protection and medical assistance to the victim and ensure that he is suitably compensated for the injuries he has received and hardship he has endured. Finally, I urge you to take immediate steps so that the Indian government ratifies the International Convention against Torture and introduces the corresponding domestic legislation.

Sincerely yours,


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SEND A LETTER TO:

1.  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

2. Justice A.S. Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Sardar Patel Bhaven, Sansad Marg
New Delhi - 110001
INDIA
Tel: + 91 11 23346244
Fax: + 91 11 23366537
E-mail: ionhrc@hub.nic.in or chairnhrc@nic.in

3. Mr Oomman Chandy
Chief Minister of Kerala
Room No. 141, IIIrd Floor, North Block, Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala State
INDIA
Tel: +91 471 2 333812, 332184 (o) / 314853, 217051 (H)
Fax: + 91 471 2 333682 (O) / 333489 (H)
E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.giv.in

4. Mr K.M. Mani
Minister for Revenue and Law, Kerala State
Room No. 216, 3rd Floor, North Sandwitch Block
Government Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala State
INDIA
Tel: + 91 471 2 327876, 327976
Fax: + 91 471 2 327876
E-mail: minister-revenue@kerala.gov.in

5. Members
Kerala State Human Rights Commission
A/19, Jawahar Nagar
Thiruvananthapuram - 695 040
Kerala State
INDIA
Tel: + 91 471 2337145 / 2313950
Fax: +91 471 2337148
E-mail: kshrctvpm@vsnl.net

6. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9174
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-147-2004
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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.