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INDIA: Police officers and thugs assault a person on mistaken identity; superior officer refuses to take any action on complaint

July 17, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

18 July 2006
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UA-236-2006: INDIA: Police officers and thugs assault a person on mistaken identity; superior officer refuses to take any action on complaint

INDIA: Torture; impunity; corruption; absence of inquiry
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Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal assault of Mr. Sadiq Ali and how he was threatened by a superior officer when he approached the officer to lodge a complaint regarding the incident. Not only was Sadiq beaten by law enforcement officers, but the police admit that they arrested and attacked the wrong person in a case of mistaken identity.

On June 26, 2006, Sadiq, a travel agent, was illegally taken into custody by plainclothes police officers and taken to the local police station in Kunnamkulam. At the time of his arrest, Sadiq was not informed why he was arrested and where he was being taken. Instead, Sadiq was punched in the face and forced into a private vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, he was further assaulted on the way to the police station. Later, after intervention by his family, the police understood that Sadiq was mistakenly taken into custody and was released. Even though Sadiq tried to lodge a complaint with the deputy superintendent of police on the same day, he was threatened by the officer and asked not to lodge a complaint. It is alleged that the police officers who took Sadiq into custody were assisted by thugs who work for private moneylending firms. Sadiq, an amateur bodybuilder who had won prizes at district-level competitions, had to be admitted to the hospital for two days to recover from the injuries he sustained in this incident.

FATCS OF THE CASE

On June 26, 2006, at about 1:55 p.m., Sadiq was waiting for a bus near the Kunnamkulam bus stand. Kunnamkulam is a township near Thrissur in central Kerala. While waiting for the bus, a vehicle bearing number plate KL-14-C-700 stopped in front of Sadiq, and a few strangers stepped out and asked him to enter their vehicle. Finding it strange, Sadiq asked one of the people who instructed him to get into the vehicle who they were and why they wanted him to accompany them.

In response, the person said, "We are police officers. You can only obey police officers after obtaining our address."

It later became known that this person was Mr. Krishnankutty, a probationary subinspector attached to the Kunnamkulam police station.

Following this initial interaction, Krishnankutty punched Sadiq in his right eye and below his left eye. Along with Krishnankutty, there were six other people in the vehicle of which two were later identified as Mr. Anil Kumar and Mr. Shivadasan -- police constables from the same police station. Sadiq was then pulled into the vehicle, and the vehicle drove towards the Kunnamkulam police station.

Once the vehicle began moving, the police officers, along with the others, started torturing Sadiq, causing him to urinate and defecate inside the vehicle. Soon the vehicle reached the police station, and Sadiq was taken inside.

At the station, Sadiq regained his courage and asked the police officers why he had been taken into custody and beaten up. The police officers did not offer any explanation to his inquiries. Sadiq informed the officers that he operates a travel agency at West Fort in Thrissur. Suddenly Sadiq's mobile phone began ringing, and the police officers told him to answer it and asked him to identify the caller.

Sadiq did as he was instructed and informed the officers that the caller was his friend, Mr. Asad, calling him from a nearby place. The officers asked Sadiq to inform Asad to come to the police station, which Sadiq did. Sadiq also informed Asad that he was being held in custody for reasons unknown to him. Before arriving at the police station, Asad contacted a member of the Panchayath [local body] and informed him that Sadiq had been taken into custody for some unknown reason and that Asad was asked to go to the station too. When Asad arrived at the police station, he was asked to wait with Sadiq.

Meanwhile, the Panchayath member contacted the police station and inquired why Sadiq had been taken into custody and why his friend Asad was also asked to go to the police station. The police answered that Sadiq was accused of being involved in a theft. In the meantime, Sadiq's family also learned the news that Sadiq was arrested and was being held at the police station. Sadiq’s family soon arrived at the police station along with the Panchayath member.

The Panchayath member and Sadiq's family again asked the officers why Sadiq was taken into custody. The police answered that it was a case of mistaken identity and that they were setting Sadiq free.

Once freed from police custody, Sadiq went to see the deputy superintendent of police, Mr. P. N. Unniraja, and explained to him what had happened. The officer informed Sadiq that the police officers who took him into custody were probationary police officers who mistook him for a defaulter in a vehicle hypothecation arrangement with a local private financial agency and that the police officers were helping this agency identify the defaulter and make the person pay the amount due.

In spite of Sadiq informing the superior officer about the brutality of the incident and the injuries he sustained from it, the deputy superintendent of police, instead of taking any action against his subordinate officers for illegal detention and torture, threatened Sadiq, telling him that he would tell the officers to register a false charge against him if Sadiq dared to complain to anyone about this incident.

Sadiq went home. By that evening, he was feeling severe pain all over his body and was finding it difficult to sleep and urinate. On June 27, Sadiq was admitted to Puthenpalli V. A. M. Hospital for treatment and was discharged two days later. As of today, Sadiq is willing to lodge a complaint in the court against the police officers who tortured him and the other identifiable persons who assisted the police in torturing him and also against the deputy superintendent of police who failed to take action on his complaint. However, Sadiq is afraid that the police officers, as threatened by the deputy superintendent of police, would implicate him in a false case.

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:

In India, there are thousands of private financial agencies who provide financial services, like hypothecation and loans, along with private and nationalised banking companies. Owing to the delay in court procedures, for the financier to repossess articles hypothecated through an agreement, they engage private agencies to repossess the security or the hypothecated article. These private agents, after paying off corrupt police officers, repossess articles forcibly, often in breach of the law, along with the police officers. Even though repossessing of securities and hypothecated articles do not come under the mandate of the local police, these agents and financiers pay off police officers to avoid complaints if the use of criminal force is involved. In addition, the presence of corrupt police officers during this process ensures a certain amount of false authority and also guarantees complete impunity for all damages caused in the process of repossession.

To prevent similar atrocities from being committed by the police and other law enforcement agencies, the Supreme Court of India ruled that when a person is taken into custody the officers must identify who they are and why the person is being taken into custody. The officers must also inform the nearest relative or friend of the detainee about the arrest and where the person is held. The Supreme Court of India ordered all states as well as the central government to enforce its verdict. The facts and circumstances of this case indicate that the police officers acted in complete derogation of these rules set by India’s highest court, which is contempt of court.

It appears that the police officers who tortured Sadiq and the deputy superintendent of police are on the payroll of private financiers. It must also be noted that custodial torture has not yet been made a crime in India. Thus, the only option available for a victim in India in the case of custodial torture is to file a private complaint in a magistrate's court under Section 190 of India’s Criminal Procedure Code. On receipt of such a complaint, the only two options available for the magistrate are (1) to refer the complaint to the local police for inquiry, which in this case are also the perpetrators, or (2) to take cognisance of the offence and again refer the matter to the local police to gather evidence, which includes the statements of witnesses. In either case, since the perpetrators themselves are vested with legal authority to investigate the complaint, these investigations are often partial and go against the victims. Additionally, in this case, it appears that the police officers received protection from their immediate superior officer -- the primary reason why police officers enjoy impunity even in cases of brutal custodial torture in India. One of the ways to avoid such an anomaly is to make torture a crime in India and to provide for a separate investigating agency, outside the influence of the local police, to investigate such cases. Towards this end, ratification of the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) would be a positive step which the Indian government must take. Upon ratification, the government of India must implement the convention into domestic law.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities mentioned below, in particular to Mr. M. N. Jayaprakash, the superintendent of police of Thrissur District, seeking an immediate and proper investigation into this incident. Please also send a copy of your letter to the other authorities named below.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ________,

INDIA: Police officers and thugs assault a person on mistaken identity; superior officer refuses to take any action on complaint

Name of the victim: Mr. Sadiq Ali, aged 34, son of P. C. Kunjhimarrikar, residing at Chiravattahu Padinjareyil house, Koukanapetti, Vadakkekad post office, Chavakkadu Thaluk, Thrissur District, Kerala, India
Names of the allged perpetrators
1. Mr. Krishnankutty, probationary subinspector attached to the Kunnamkulam police station, Thrissur District, Kerala
2. Mr. Anil Kumar, police constable attached to the Kunnamkulam police station, Thrissur District, Kerala
3. Mr. Shivadasan, police constable attached to the Kunnamkulam police station, Thrissur District, Kerala
4. Mr. P. N. Unniraja, deputy superintendent of police, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur District, Kerala
5. Four other people who were also present at the time of the incident in the private vehicle bearing number plate KL-14-C-700 and who can be identified by the victim
Place of incident: Kunnamkulam police station
Date of incident: June 26, 2006

I am writing to you to express my concern and to call for action in the case reported from Kunnamkulam police station that occurred on June 26, 2006, involving Mr. Sadiq Ali. I have been informed that on this date police officers 1, 2 and 3 named above, along with four other identifiable people, approached Sadiq in a private vehicle bearing number plate KL-14-C-700 while Sadiq was waiting for a bus near the Kunnamkulam bus stand. It is alleged that the police officers were not in uniform when they approached Sadiq.

Subinspector Krishnankutty got out of the vehicle and asked Sadiq to get into the vehicle. Sadiq refused to get into the vehicle and further questioned who he was. I am informed that Krishnankutty then punched Sadiq in his right eye and below his left eye. Krishnankutty was soon joined by Anil Kumar and Shivadasan, who are also police constables from the Kunnamkulam police station, and four other identifiable people who were with Krishnankutty in the vehicle. They dragged Sadiq into the vehicle; and once inside, the police officers, along with the others, tortured Sadiq.

Soon the vehicle reached the Kunnamkulam police station, and Sadiq was detained without being offered an explanation about why he was detained. Meanwhile, Sadiq informed the officers that he was formerly employed abroad and that he was operating a travel agency at West Fort in Thrissur District. I am informed that Sadiq was later released only when his family, a friend and a Panchayath member intervened. Even though the police officers initially informed the family that Sadiq was detained in connection with a theft case, it is alleged that the officers, before releasing Sadiq, admitted that he had been taken into custody on mistaken identity. While in custody, Sadiq suffered severe injuries that required him to be admitted in a hospital for two days upon his release.

I am also informed that upon his release Sadiq made a complaint against the officers with the deputy superintendent of police, Mr. P. N. Unniraja, on the same day. However, it is alleged that Sadiq was threatened by the deputy superintendent of police, who told him that if he dared to lodge a complaint against the police officers they would book him with false cases. The deputy superintendent of police also informed Sadiq that the police officers were just inducted into the police service as probationary officers and that they might lose their jobs if Sadiq complained.

I am also informed that Sadiq is still willing to proceed with a complaint to be filed in court but that he is worried about whether the police officers will act maliciously as threatened by the deputy superintendent of police. I am informed that there is a witness to the incident, of Sadiq being held in custody, Mr. Asad, who contacted Sadiq while he was in custody. I am informed that Asad, when contacted by Sadiq on the telephone, was asked to come to the police station by the officers, who also kept Asad at the police station until releasing Sadiq.

It is alleged that the police officers were acting under the direction of private moneylenders and that the four other people who were present in the vehicle at the time Sadiq was arrested and tortured were local thugs who work for private financiers as their agents. It is also alleged that the police officers, along with their superior officer, are on the payroll of private moneylenders, which is why the superior officer refused to take any action on Sadiq’s complaint. I am informed that the entire incident is in breach of the law and amounts to contempt of court since the Supreme Court of India’s ruling on arrest and detention procedures. I am also informed that you as a superior officer, now that you are informed of what has happened to Sadiq, will also be held liable for contempt of court if you fail to initiate any action in this case.

I am also concerned about the entire incident and the manner in which it was handled by a superior officer, particularly because the officers who tortured Sadiq are probationary officers being trained by this superior officer. I am concerned that if this incident reflects how and for what they are being trained before they are inducted into the regular police service what will they do when their service has been regularised?

I thus request you to take immediate action in this case, order an impartial inquiry into the incident and take appropriate action against the police officers who are responsible for the act of torture and also against the superintendent of police who failed to take any action on the complaint lodged by Sadiq. I also request that you provide all necessary protection for Sadiq and his friend Asad so that he could lodge a private complaint in court. I also request you to make necessary arrangements to pay Sadiq interim compensation for the injuries he sustained and also to pressure the government of India to ratify the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and to subsequently enact appropriate domestic legislation making custodial torture a crime in India.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND LETTERS TO:

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

2. Mr. Raman Srivastava, IPS
Director General and Inspector General of Police Kerala Police Headquarters Vazhuthacaud, Trivandrum Kerala
INDIA
Tel: 91-471-2721547
Fax: 91-471-2729434
Email: dgpkerala@asianetindia.com

3. Mr. M. N. Jayaprakash
Superintendent of Police
Civil Lane, Thrissur
Kerala State
INDIA
Fax: + 91- 487- 2361000
Email: sptsr@sancharnet.in

4. 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 

5. Justice V. K. Bali
The Chief Justice
High Court of Kerala
Kochi, Kerala state
INIDA
Fax: 91 - 484 – 2391720
Email: highcourt@ker.nic.in

6. 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)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-236-2006
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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.