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INDIA: Man sustains severe injuries after police brutality

December 13, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

13 December 2004
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UA-172-2004: INDIA:  Man sustains severe injuries after police brutality

INDIA: Inhuman torture; Custodial death; Floored investigations
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Sanjay Somnath Gaikwad, a driver in Rahata town, Maharashtra, was mercilessly beaten by police personnel at 10:30 p.m. on 11 November 2004, and is now fighting for his life in a hospital.

It is reported that Sanjay filed a complaint against two members of the Maratha community from his village, Andarsool after they had beat him up during a quarrel. However, soon after that, these two men, along with two policemen of the Andarsool Police Outpost, came to his house, dragged his wife and children out and relentlessly beat him up. Though, Sanjay filed a complaint against them the next day, no action against the perpetrators had been taken till November 30, and it is surmised that one of the police responsible for the beatings may have been transferred. The victim has also sent a complaint to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Nashik.

Sanjay was unfortunately refused admission to many hospitals due to the extent of his injuries, which are very serious, but was eventually admitted to the Aurangabad Medical College where he is still undergoing treatment.

We write to you to intervene in this matter and carry out a thorough impartial investigation so that correct legal action is taken against all the perpetrators of this crime and justice is ensued to the victim.

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

Name of victim: Sanjay Somnath Gaikwad, 35 years old
Address of the victim: Viroba Gulli, Andarsool, Tal.Yeola, Dt.Nashik, Maharashtra
Place of incident: Biroba gulli, Andarsool, Yeola Taluka, Nashik District, Maharashtra
Alleged perpetrators:
1) Police Constable -Dada Kadam
2) Police Constable- Pathare
(Both from the Andarsool Police Outpost, attached to the Yeola Police Station)
3) Dattu Sakaram Sejwal
4) Sunil Rupechedkar
(Both belonging to the Maratha community of Andarsool village)
Date of incident: 11 November 2004

Case details:

Sanjay Somnath Gaikwad, a tribal youth worked as a driver in Rahata town, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. During his visit home to Andarsool, on Diwali, he picked up a quarrel with Dattu Sakaram Sejwal and Sunil Rupechedkar of the Maratha community and in the mayhem that followed was beaten up by them on 11 November 2004 at 8:30 p.m. Sanjay soon thereafter, filed a complaint with the Andarsool police station regarding this matter. At 10:30 after he had returned home, much to his surprise, Dattu Sakaram Sejwal and Sunil Rupechedkar along with two police constables- Dada Kadam and Pathare, came to his house, dragged his wife and children out after threatening them and started beating him. Sanjay was abused so hard that he incurred various serious internal injuries. However, Sanjay did go at about 12:30 noon the next day and filed another police complaint at the Yeola Police Station.

Since he suffered grave internal injuries, he had to be taken to the Aurangabad Medical College as none of the other smaller hospitals had the facilities to deal with his injuries. He is at present in a precarious state, undergoing treatment.

According to our latest information, despite the complaint filed by the victim, no action has been taken till the November 30 against any of the perpetrators. There was an information that one of the police responsible for the beatings may have been transferred but it was not confirmed. The victim has also filed a complaint to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Nashik.

The AHRC notes with great sadness that the police, the so-called upholders of law, are involved with crimes of such nature and instead of aiding the victim, in fact go against him. The AHRC is deeply concerned about Sanjay's state and hope that with the intervention of the requisite authorities, justice will finally be given to him.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the Director General of Police, Maharashtra, requesting him to immediately carry a proper and fair inquiry into the whole incident. Please also send copies of that letter to the local authorities listed below:

PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO:

The Director General of Police
State Police Headquarters, Old Council Hall
Opp Regal Cinema
SB Marg,
Mumbai 400 039
INDIA
Tel: +91 22 22026672
Fax: +91 22 22026566 / 22813334

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Police Commissioner
District Police Headquarters
Nashik, Maharashtra
INDIA
Tel: +91 9525 2570183

2. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
President
Office of the President
Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi, 110004
INDIA
Tel: +91 11 3016767 (Joint Secretary), 3014507 (Personal Secretary)
Fax: +91 11 3017290, 3014570
Email: presssecy@alpha.nic.in or Pressecy@Sansad.nic.in

3. Shri Justice A. S. Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg
New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA
Tel: +91 11 2334 0891 / 2334 7065
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
E-Mail: mailto:chairnhrc@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)

Sample letter:

Dear Director General of Police,

Re: Man sustains severe injuries after police brutality

Name of victim: Sanjay Somnath Gaikwad, 35 years old
Address of the victim: Viroba Gulli, Andarsool, Tal.Yeola, Dt.Nashik, Maharashtra
Place of incident: Biroba gulli, Andarsool, Yeola Taluka, Nashik District, Maharashtra
Alleged perpetrators:
1) Police Constable -Dada Kadam
2) Police Constable- Pathare
(Both from the Andarsool Police Outpost, attached to the Yeola Police Station)
3) Dattu Sakaram Sejwal
4) Sunil Rupechedkar
(Both belonging to the Maratha community of Andarsool village)
Date of incident: 11 November 2004

 I am deeply concerned to hear of the alleged abuse and torture of a young man in Andarsool village, Nashik district, Maharashtra. According to the information that I have received, Sanjay filed a complaint with the Andarsool Police Station against two members of the Maratha Community from his village with whom he had quarreled and who had subsequently beaten him up. However, much to his surprise, not only did the police not take any action against them but instead, joined hands with them and later that night mercilessly beat him in his house. As a result, he sustained severe internal injuries and has been in hospital ever since, fighting for his life.

I note with great distress that no inquiry has been conducted so far and no action taken against the perpetrators despite the fact that the victim has filed a complaint and has also written to the District Superintendent of Police. I fervently hope that you will take cognizance of this and conduct a thorough and impartial investigation so that all those people responsible for Sanjay's pitiable state will be legally brought to book for the offence committed.

Finally, I urge the Government of India to ratify UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and immediately implement domestic legislation relevant to this Act.

Yours sincerely,


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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-172-2004
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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.