India
02.06.04
Urgent Interventions
India: arbitrary arrest, torture and subsequent death of Mr. Kanai Santra in West Bengal
Case IND 020604
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Torture / Death as a result of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest, torture and subsequent death of Mr. Kanai Santra in West Bengal, India.
According to the information received, Kanai Santra, an approximately 38-year old electrician was arbitrarily arrested at around 11:00 am on 23 May 2004 by officers from the Nodakhali Police Station while working near Kalitala, South 24 Parganas District. It is reported that during his arrest by the police, he was not informed of the reason of arrest and a 'memo of arrest', which is one of the duties of the police at the time of arrest, was not issued.
When Kanai Santra’s family members came to Nodakhali Police Station to enquire about his situation, they were told that he was being detained on suspicion of stealing ornaments from a nearby Kali temple, an accusation that his family has denied outright. The Nodakhali Police only produced Kanai Santra’s case before the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court, Alipur, Kolkata on 25 May 2004, two days after his arrest, even though Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India states that the arrested person should be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest. Furthermore, Kanai Santra was not produced before the SDJM court in person, only legal papers were produced before the magistrate, a practice that is in violation of the Indian Constitution and Criminal Procedure Code of India.
During his detention at the Alipur Court detention facilities, Kanai Santra was reportedly physically assaulted by several policemen, who punched and kicked him until he fell down unconscious. Kanai Santra was reportedly left lying unconscious in his cell. On the evening of 25 May 2004, when the Nodakhali Police came to take Kanai Santra back to the police station, as the court had rejected his bail application, they found that he was still lying unconscious in his cell. Kanai Santra was then sent to the Bangur Government Hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries at 8:40 pm on the same day.
Following this, the Officer-in-Charge of the Alipur Court lock-up, Sub-Inspector Samir Mukherjee, reportedly lodged a false complaint at Alipur Police Station at 10:30 pm, claiming that Kanai Santra had been assaulted by co-detainees (Case No. 82 dated 25/5/2004 under sections 325/308 of the Indian Penal Code). After the complaint was registered, at about 11:00 pm, the policemen of Alipur Police Station visited the Bangur Government Hospital. After confirming Kanai's death, the Investigating Officer (I.O), Mr. S. A. Khan of Alipur Police Station, added an additional penal section 304 I.P.C. to the initial complaint, related to the case of unnatural death.
The Unnatural Death (UD) case of Kanai Santra was taken up at the Jadavpur Police Station (Case No. 241 dated 26/5/2004), on 26 May 2004. The same day, an executive magistrate, Mr. Jiban Krishna Ghosh, conducted an inquest on Kanai Santra’s body. It was detected that there were multiple external injuries on his body: there were bruises, cuts, haematoma on the left side of the chest, left eye, toes of left foot, fingers of right hand, left wrist, left knee and also other injuries. However, due to the alleged negligence of the Jadavpur Police Station, Kanai's body was not examined by the autopsy surgeon on 26 May 2004. On 27 May 2004, at about 3:00 pm, the Jadavpur Police brought the papers to the Calcutta Morgue for Kanai Santra’s post-mortem examination.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the death of Mr. Kanai Santra, allegedly as a result of torture by members of the Nodakhali Police on 25 May 2004, and subsequent attempts to cover this up. OMCT calls on the authorities in West Bengal to order an immediately, independent and thorough investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Kanai Santra’s death, in order to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. Furthermore, OMCT urges the authorities to guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to of Mr. Kanai Santra’s family.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mr. Kanai Santra, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the family of the victim;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya, Chief Minister and Home Minister of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 5480
· Mr Ashok Gupta, Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 4328
· Mr. Shyamal Kumar Dutta, Director General & Inspector General of Police, Government of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 4498 / 2214 5486, Email: padgp@wbpolice.gov.in
· Justice A S Anand, National Human Rights Commission of India, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110 001, INDIA, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
· Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen, Chairman, West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhavani Bhavan, Alipur, Kolkata-27, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2479 9633, Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
· S. Rajendra Babu, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi 110001, INDIA
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, June 2, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Torture / Death as a result of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest, torture and subsequent death of Mr. Kanai Santra in West Bengal, India.
According to the information received, Kanai Santra, an approximately 38-year old electrician was arbitrarily arrested at around 11:00 am on 23 May 2004 by officers from the Nodakhali Police Station while working near Kalitala, South 24 Parganas District. It is reported that during his arrest by the police, he was not informed of the reason of arrest and a 'memo of arrest', which is one of the duties of the police at the time of arrest, was not issued.
When Kanai Santra’s family members came to Nodakhali Police Station to enquire about his situation, they were told that he was being detained on suspicion of stealing ornaments from a nearby Kali temple, an accusation that his family has denied outright. The Nodakhali Police only produced Kanai Santra’s case before the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court, Alipur, Kolkata on 25 May 2004, two days after his arrest, even though Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India states that the arrested person should be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest. Furthermore, Kanai Santra was not produced before the SDJM court in person, only legal papers were produced before the magistrate, a practice that is in violation of the Indian Constitution and Criminal Procedure Code of India.
During his detention at the Alipur Court detention facilities, Kanai Santra was reportedly physically assaulted by several policemen, who punched and kicked him until he fell down unconscious. Kanai Santra was reportedly left lying unconscious in his cell. On the evening of 25 May 2004, when the Nodakhali Police came to take Kanai Santra back to the police station, as the court had rejected his bail application, they found that he was still lying unconscious in his cell. Kanai Santra was then sent to the Bangur Government Hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries at 8:40 pm on the same day.
Following this, the Officer-in-Charge of the Alipur Court lock-up, Sub-Inspector Samir Mukherjee, reportedly lodged a false complaint at Alipur Police Station at 10:30 pm, claiming that Kanai Santra had been assaulted by co-detainees (Case No. 82 dated 25/5/2004 under sections 325/308 of the Indian Penal Code). After the complaint was registered, at about 11:00 pm, the policemen of Alipur Police Station visited the Bangur Government Hospital. After confirming Kanai's death, the Investigating Officer (I.O), Mr. S. A. Khan of Alipur Police Station, added an additional penal section 304 I.P.C. to the initial complaint, related to the case of unnatural death.
The Unnatural Death (UD) case of Kanai Santra was taken up at the Jadavpur Police Station (Case No. 241 dated 26/5/2004), on 26 May 2004. The same day, an executive magistrate, Mr. Jiban Krishna Ghosh, conducted an inquest on Kanai Santra’s body. It was detected that there were multiple external injuries on his body: there were bruises, cuts, haematoma on the left side of the chest, left eye, toes of left foot, fingers of right hand, left wrist, left knee and also other injuries. However, due to the alleged negligence of the Jadavpur Police Station, Kanai's body was not examined by the autopsy surgeon on 26 May 2004. On 27 May 2004, at about 3:00 pm, the Jadavpur Police brought the papers to the Calcutta Morgue for Kanai Santra’s post-mortem examination.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the death of Mr. Kanai Santra, allegedly as a result of torture by members of the Nodakhali Police on 25 May 2004, and subsequent attempts to cover this up. OMCT calls on the authorities in West Bengal to order an immediately, independent and thorough investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Kanai Santra’s death, in order to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. Furthermore, OMCT urges the authorities to guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to of Mr. Kanai Santra’s family.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mr. Kanai Santra, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the family of the victim;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya, Chief Minister and Home Minister of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 5480
· Mr Ashok Gupta, Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 4328
· Mr. Shyamal Kumar Dutta, Director General & Inspector General of Police, Government of West Bengal, Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2214 4498 / 2214 5486, Email: padgp@wbpolice.gov.in
· Justice A S Anand, National Human Rights Commission of India, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110 001, INDIA, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
· Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen, Chairman, West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhavani Bhavan, Alipur, Kolkata-27, West Bengal, INDIA, Fax: +91-33-2479 9633, Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
· S. Rajendra Babu, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi 110001, INDIA
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, June 2, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.