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INDIA: A man was killed by police officers after being arbitrarily arrested and tortured at the Pudukkad Police Station

September 28, 2003

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

29 September 2003

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UA-56-2003: INDIA: A man was killed by police officers after being arbitrarily arrested and tortured at the Pudukkad Police Station

INDIA: Arbitrary arrest; Torture; Custodial death
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Dear friends

Name of the victim: Mr. M. V. Babu (37 years old)
Address of the victim: s/o Velayudhan, Mambully Parambil house, Alagappa Nagar P.O, Kallur Village, Mukundapuram Thaluk, Thrissur, Kerala State, India.
Perpetrators: Constable Mr. Chandrasekaran and two other police officers from the Pudukkad Police Station in Kerala State

DETAILED INFORMATION:

On 14 August 2003 police conducted a raid for illicit liquor very close to a Mr. Babu¡¦s house. Mr. Babu, the victim, and his wife Sarasu live on three cents of land and in an incomplete house, allotted by the Panchayath (local self-government). During the raid the vendor and the customers ran away and police got hold of a person with speaking difficulty (stammering), who mentioned a name that the police took as "Babu." ("Babu" is a common name in Kerala). Later the police came to Babu¡¦s house and ordered the family members to bring him to the police station under the threat of dire consequences. The next day the police came to Babu's house and threatened his family. However, Babu did not go to the station, and the police did not act until 30 August 2003.

On 30 August at 2:50am, three policemen from the Pudukkad police station, led by police constable Mr.Chandrasekaran, came to Babu¡¦s house, rushed in and dragged Babu into a police jeep and took him to the station. They said there was a warrant against Babu in an old case.

By late evening Sarasu, accompanied by one of their relatives Mr. Nanu, and a local politician named Mr. Jaison, went to the police station. Babu was in lockup, wearing only his undergarment, and was shivering on the floor so much that he could not stand up. Sarasu asked Babu whether police beat him up and he nodded his head in affirmative. Nanu fetched food for Babu but he only ate a little because of the pain. The police later forced him to stand up, even though he was in so much pain.

Sarasu demanded bail for Babu, but the police refused and said they would have to apply for bail through the court. The police also told them to hire a car if Sarasu wanted Babu to be able to go to court. So the next day Sarasu hired a taxi and took Babu, along with a policeman, to Irinajalakuda magistrate court (at her expense). The magistrate was on leave, so they had to go further to the Chalakudy magistrate court. Only in court did they find that the charge against Babu was related to the police raid conducted on 14 August 2003. Their bail was rejected none the less. Babu was remanded for 14 days, and then taken to Sub-Jail, Irinjalakuda in spite of his frailing health.

On 1 September, Sarasu went to visit Babu in jail, where he needed support in order to stand up. Police asked Sarasu whether Babu had bad health, to which she told them he was healthy before being taken into custody. Officials did not allow Sarasu to speak to Babu. The next day Sarasu returned to the jail, and enquired through their advocate as to why he was admitted to the Government Hospital, Chalakudy. Sarasu went back home to inform relatives and to take somebody to the hospital for help. While she was at the bus stop, a neighbor informed her that police were waiting at their house, and that Babu was in the hospital. Though Sarasu wanted to rush to the hospital, she was ordered to go to the Pudukkad Police Station if she wanted to see her husband in the hospital. Sasasu had no options other than to go to the police station, where she was forced to sign some documents without knowing their contents. Then she rushed to the hospital, where she found Babu¡¦s body in the mortuary, with his eyes wide open and hands twisted. Babu's relatives know Babu was very healthy, and never suffered any ailments before he was taken to custody by the Pudukkad police. The Pudukkad police say that Babu was treated well in custody and he was not subjected to any kind of inhuman treatment. The autopsy report reveals a different picture. There were 13 ante-mortem injuries on Babu: -

1. Abrasion 1.5 X 1.5 cm on the back of the right forearm 3 cm below the elbow.
2. Abrasion 7.5 X 2.3 cm on the medial aspect of the right forearm 7 cm above the wrist.
3. Abrasion 8 X 3.5 cm on the front of the right leg 6 cm below the right knee.
4. Abrasion 9 X 0.4 cm on the front of the right leg 7.5 cm below injury no. 3.
5. Abrasion 3 X 0.5 cm on the front of the left leg 5 cm below the knee.
6. Abrasion 4.5 X 0.5 cm on the front of the left leg 15 cm below injury no. 5.
7. Abrasion 4 X 0.5 cm on the front of the left thigh 4 cm above the knee.
8. Abrasion 5 X 2 cm on the medial aspect of left forearm 2 cm above wrist.
9. Abrasion 5 X 2.5 cm on the lateral aspect of left forearm 2 cm above the wrist.
10. Abrasion 1.5 cm X 0.5 cm on the back of left elbow.
11. Abrasion 2 X 1 cm on the back of left elbow 8 cm lateral to the injury no. 10.
12. Abrasion 1 X 0.5 cm on the front of left upper arm.
13. Abrasion 1.5 X 0.3 cm on the right side of chest.

The police now say that Babu was a drug addict and that he had violent bouts while he was in custody, therefore injuring himself.

When Babu was arrested, no one in his family (Babu included), was told of the charges against him, even though the law mandates the contrary. Further, when the police search a house where a female resides, the police must either ask the lady to stay out of the house at the time of search, or if she refuses, female officers must do the search. Overall, a person must never be tortured in custody. All legal formalities were violated in this case, and Babu died in custody. He was never given access to medical treatment. That the wife had to hire car to take the victim to court is another example of the deterioration of the policing in the country. Sarasu and the family are afraid to lodge a complaint, fearing vengeance by falsely implicating them in another crime. Babu was the breadwinner of the family and since his death, the family is finding it difficult to make ends meet.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to:

1. Mr. M. M. Pareedu Pillai
The Chairman
Kerala State Human Rights Commission
Arka Njlayam, M.P. Appan Road
Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram 695014,
Kerala State
INDIA
Tel: +91 471 2 337263 / 337145 (direct) 313950
Fax: +91 471 2 2337148
Email : kshrctvpm@vsnl.net

2. Mr. A. K. Antony
Chief Minister of Kerala
Room No.141, IIIrd Floor, North Block, Secretariat,
Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala State
INDIA
Tel: +91 471 2 333812, 332184 (O) / 314853, 317051 (H)
Fax: +91 471 2 333682 (O) / 333489 (H)
E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in

3. 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

4. Mr. Justice Jawhar Lal Gupta
Chief Justice, Kerala High Court
Chief Justice's Residence,
Retd. Justice K.T. Koshy Avenue,
Kochi - 682 011,
Kerala State
INIDA
Tel: +91 474 2 397049, 354350
Fax: +91 474 2 352504

5. 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 2 334 0891 / 2334 7065
Fax: +91 11 2 334 0016
E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

6. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917-9016
E-mail: <mailto:secrt.hchr@unog.ch>secrt.hchr@unog.ch

7. Ms. Asma Jahangir
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: + 92 42 5763 234
Fax: + 41 22 917 9006 / 92 42 5763 236
Email: webadmin.hchr@unog.ch / asmalaw@brain.net.pk

Sample letter:

Dear

Re: A man was killed by police officers after being arbitrarily arrested and tortured at the Pudukkad Police Station

Name of the victim: Mr. M. V. Babu (37 years old)
Address of the victim: s/o Velayudhan, Mambully Parambil house, Alagappa Nagar P.O, Kallur Village, Mukundapuram Thaluk, Thrissur, Kerala State, India.
Perpetrators: Constable Mr. Chandrasekaran and two other police officers from the Pudukkad Police Station in Kerala State

I have received information that Mr. Babu, aged 37, was killed by police officers after being arbitrarily arrested and tortured. The perpetrators, who tortured Babu to death, remain unpunished and unquestioned. The victim's relatives are afraid of further police intimidation if they complain about his death.

This case clearly illustrates that the Government of India has failed to establish the rule of law. In spite of repeated warnings from constitutional courts, the Government of India has not taken any serious action to prohibit arbitrary arrest, torture, and extra-judicial killings committed by the police for a long time. In addition, the arrest of a person without proper inquiry into the case and charging him/her without evidence are absolute violations of all of the safeguards provided by the Criminal Procedure Code. More seriously, the victims have no feasible way to make complaints because the police, who are the perpetrators, also conduct the investigation of subsequent complaints.

I urge you to bring the above perpetrators to justice immediately and to provide compensation to the victim's family according to international law. I also urge you to transfer the perpetrators away from the police station until disciplinary action is taken against them.
I further urge the Government of India to take strong and speedy action to ratify the Convention against Torture (CAT), implementing it into domestic law in order to eliminate torture and extra-judicial killings.

Sincerely yours



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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-56-2003
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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.