India
29.09.03
Urgent Interventions
India: death in detention of Mr. M. V. Babu as a result of torture
Case IND 290903
Arbitrary detention / Torture / Death in detention
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 the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the death in detention of Mr. M. V. Babu, resulting from torture in detention by police officers in India.
According to the information received, on August 30th Mr. M. V. Babu was arrested under suspicion of possession or selling of illicit liquor. On August 14th, Pudukkad Police Station officers conducted a raid for illicit liquor close to Mr. Babu's house. Mr. Babu and his wife, Sarasu, live in a house allotted by the local self-government (Panchayath). During the raid, the vendor and customers ran away, but the police captured a person who, due to a speech impediment, stammered a name that the police took to be "Babu" (a very common name in Kerala). Later that day and the following day, the police came to Babu's house and threatened his family members in order to get them to bring him in to the police station. Babu did not go to the station, and the police did not come back until August 30th.
On August 30th at 2:50 a.m., three police officers from the Pudukkad police station, led by police constable Chandrasekaran, came to Mr. Babu's house, dragged the him into a police jeep, and took him to the police station. They said that there was a warrant for his arrest in an old case.
That evening, his wife Sarasu, accompanied by a relative by the name of Mr. Nanu and a local politician named Mr. Jaison, went to the police station. Babu was reportedly being held in a cell, wearing only his underwear, and was shivering on the floor to the point of being unable to stand. Sarasu asked Babu if the police had tortured him, and he nodded that they had. Nanu brought food for Babu, but he was able to eat very little due to the pain.
Sarasu demanded that her husband be released on bail, but the police refused and told her that they would have to apply for bail through the court. The police also told them that they would have to hire a car as Sarasu wanted Babu to be able to go to the court. The following day Sarasu took Babu, along with a policeman, to Irinajalakuda magistrate court in a taxi, at her expense. The magistrate was on leave, so they had to go even further to the Chalakudy magistrate court. In court they finally found that the charge against Babu was related to the police raid conducted on August 14th. However, the bail application was rejected, and Babu was remanded for 14 days. He was taken to Sub-Jail, Irinjalakuda, in spite of his failing health.
On September 1st, Sarasu visited Babu in jail, where he could not stand without support. Officials did not allow Sarasu to speak to Babu. The police asked her if he had been in bad health, to which she replied that he was healthy before being taken into custody. Sarasu returned to the jail September 2nd and discovered through their lawyer that Babu had been admitted in the Government Hospital, Chalakudy. When she returned home to notify relatives that he had been admitted to the hospital and to ask someone to accompany her there, the police were waiting at the house. Although she wanted to rush to the hospital, she was ordered to first go to the Pudukkad Police Station. Left without a choice, she went to the police station, where she was forced to sign several documents without knowing their contents. She then went to the hospital, where she discovered her husband's body in the morgue, with his eyes wide open and his hands twisted.
According to relatives, Babu was in good health before being taken into custody by the Pudukkad police. The police claim that Babu was treated well in custody and was not subjected to any kind of torture. The autopsy report, however, reveals that there were 13 ante mortem injuries on the victim. The police are now claiming that Babu was a drug addict and that he brought injury upon himself during violent bouts of withdrawal. Mr. Babu's wife and family are afraid to lodge a complaint with regards to the case, fearing reprisals by the police.
The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to express its deep concern for the death in detention of Mr. Babu, notably as there are serious allegations that he was subjected to torture by members of the police. OMCT calls on the authorities to immediately order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Babu's arrest, torture and death, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, and award adequate reparation to the his family.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Babu's arrest and subsequent death, in order to identify 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
· Prime Minister, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Union Office of the Prime Minister, South Block 11, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: + 91 112 23016857/19545
· The President of India, His Excellency A.J.P. Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, India, Fax: +91 112 23017290
· Home Secretary, Kamal Pandey, Ministry of Home Affairs, Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 23015750
· Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, Room No.104, North Block, New Delhi 100 001, India, Fax: +91 11 309 4221
· The Attorney General, Mr Soli Sorobjee, The Office of the Attorney General, Supreme Court Of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 6862957
· Shri Justice A S Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110 001, India, Fax: +91 11 2 334 0016, E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
· Mr. M. M. Pareedu Pillai, The Chairman, Kerala State Human Rights Commission, Arka Njlayam, M.P. Appan Road, Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, Kerala State, India, Fax: +91 471 2 2337148, Email: kshrctvpm@vsnl.net
· Mr. A. K. Antony, Chief Minister of Kerala, Room No.141, IIIrd Floor, North Block, Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India, Fax: +91 471 2 333682 (O) / 333489 (H), E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in
· 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, Fax: +91 471 2 327876, E-mail: minister-revenue@kerala.gov.in
· 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, India, Fax: +91 474 2 352504
· 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, September 29th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention / Torture / Death in detention
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 the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the death in detention of Mr. M. V. Babu, resulting from torture in detention by police officers in India.
According to the information received, on August 30th Mr. M. V. Babu was arrested under suspicion of possession or selling of illicit liquor. On August 14th, Pudukkad Police Station officers conducted a raid for illicit liquor close to Mr. Babu's house. Mr. Babu and his wife, Sarasu, live in a house allotted by the local self-government (Panchayath). During the raid, the vendor and customers ran away, but the police captured a person who, due to a speech impediment, stammered a name that the police took to be "Babu" (a very common name in Kerala). Later that day and the following day, the police came to Babu's house and threatened his family members in order to get them to bring him in to the police station. Babu did not go to the station, and the police did not come back until August 30th.
On August 30th at 2:50 a.m., three police officers from the Pudukkad police station, led by police constable Chandrasekaran, came to Mr. Babu's house, dragged the him into a police jeep, and took him to the police station. They said that there was a warrant for his arrest in an old case.
That evening, his wife Sarasu, accompanied by a relative by the name of Mr. Nanu and a local politician named Mr. Jaison, went to the police station. Babu was reportedly being held in a cell, wearing only his underwear, and was shivering on the floor to the point of being unable to stand. Sarasu asked Babu if the police had tortured him, and he nodded that they had. Nanu brought food for Babu, but he was able to eat very little due to the pain.
Sarasu demanded that her husband be released on bail, but the police refused and told her that they would have to apply for bail through the court. The police also told them that they would have to hire a car as Sarasu wanted Babu to be able to go to the court. The following day Sarasu took Babu, along with a policeman, to Irinajalakuda magistrate court in a taxi, at her expense. The magistrate was on leave, so they had to go even further to the Chalakudy magistrate court. In court they finally found that the charge against Babu was related to the police raid conducted on August 14th. However, the bail application was rejected, and Babu was remanded for 14 days. He was taken to Sub-Jail, Irinjalakuda, in spite of his failing health.
On September 1st, Sarasu visited Babu in jail, where he could not stand without support. Officials did not allow Sarasu to speak to Babu. The police asked her if he had been in bad health, to which she replied that he was healthy before being taken into custody. Sarasu returned to the jail September 2nd and discovered through their lawyer that Babu had been admitted in the Government Hospital, Chalakudy. When she returned home to notify relatives that he had been admitted to the hospital and to ask someone to accompany her there, the police were waiting at the house. Although she wanted to rush to the hospital, she was ordered to first go to the Pudukkad Police Station. Left without a choice, she went to the police station, where she was forced to sign several documents without knowing their contents. She then went to the hospital, where she discovered her husband's body in the morgue, with his eyes wide open and his hands twisted.
According to relatives, Babu was in good health before being taken into custody by the Pudukkad police. The police claim that Babu was treated well in custody and was not subjected to any kind of torture. The autopsy report, however, reveals that there were 13 ante mortem injuries on the victim. The police are now claiming that Babu was a drug addict and that he brought injury upon himself during violent bouts of withdrawal. Mr. Babu's wife and family are afraid to lodge a complaint with regards to the case, fearing reprisals by the police.
The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to express its deep concern for the death in detention of Mr. Babu, notably as there are serious allegations that he was subjected to torture by members of the police. OMCT calls on the authorities to immediately order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Babu's arrest, torture and death, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, and award adequate reparation to the his family.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Babu's arrest and subsequent death, in order to identify 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
· Prime Minister, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Union Office of the Prime Minister, South Block 11, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: + 91 112 23016857/19545
· The President of India, His Excellency A.J.P. Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, India, Fax: +91 112 23017290
· Home Secretary, Kamal Pandey, Ministry of Home Affairs, Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 23015750
· Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, Room No.104, North Block, New Delhi 100 001, India, Fax: +91 11 309 4221
· The Attorney General, Mr Soli Sorobjee, The Office of the Attorney General, Supreme Court Of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 6862957
· Shri Justice A S Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110 001, India, Fax: +91 11 2 334 0016, E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
· Mr. M. M. Pareedu Pillai, The Chairman, Kerala State Human Rights Commission, Arka Njlayam, M.P. Appan Road, Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, Kerala State, India, Fax: +91 471 2 2337148, Email: kshrctvpm@vsnl.net
· Mr. A. K. Antony, Chief Minister of Kerala, Room No.141, IIIrd Floor, North Block, Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India, Fax: +91 471 2 333682 (O) / 333489 (H), E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in
· 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, Fax: +91 471 2 327876, E-mail: minister-revenue@kerala.gov.in
· 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, India, Fax: +91 474 2 352504
· 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, September 29th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.