INDIA: Man looses his hearing due to police torture in Kerala 

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from our local partner based in Kerala state, India, regarding the case of Mr. Sunil who was tortured at the Kodakara police station on 23 September 2006. Sunil was later admitted in a hospital and it is alleged that he might loose his hearing capacity in his left ear due to police torture.

Mr. Sunil, aged about 25 years, son of Velayudhan, residing at Padinjarekunnathu house, Kodakara, Thrissur district, Kerala state is from the Scheduled Caste community. On 22 September 2006, a police constable from the Kodakara police station came to Sunli’s house and asked him to report at the police station the next day, because there was a complaint against Sunil from his neighbour. The officer informed Sunil that his neighbour Mr. Kannan had complained to the police that Sunil tried to molest his wife and also tried to kill their dog by poisoning. Sunil informed the police officer that he had disputes with Kannan regarding the boundary of his house and Kannan’s house and that this dispute might be a probable reason why his neighbour filed a false complaint against him. However, Sunil agreed to report at the station the next day.

On 23 September 2006, Sunil along with his fifty-five year old mother Chakkikutty and the member of the Kodakara Panchayath reported at the Kodakara police station at about 10.30am. The police officer in duty at the station informed Sunil that the Sub Inspector would be coming at about noon and asked Sunil to wait. Sunil and his mother waited at the police station in the veranda on a bench. At about 2.30pm, Head Constable Mr. Lohidakshan approached Sunil and asked for his name. As soon as Sunil said his name, the police officer shouted “son of a bitch… stand up”. Sunil got scared and stood up. Immediately the officer punched Sunil in his stomach. Sunil could not bear the pain and shock and he bend forward. The officer immediately slapped Sunil on his left ear. Sunil could not bear the pain and also started bleeding from his left ear. Seeing this, Sunil’s mother Chakkikutty fainted. After a few minutes, three other police constables also came out from the police station and shouted at Sunil using the most vulgar words. One police constable also tried to push Sunil around in the veranda by holding him by his shirt sleeve.

The Sub Inspector came to the police station at about 5.30pm. The Sub Inspector called Sunil to his room and questioned Sunil. Sunil informed the officer that the complaint against him is false. However, the officer threatened Sunil that he would be included in the list maintained at the police station as a criminal in the locality. The officer also took a photograph of Sunil. Later in the evening on the same day, the Panchayath member Mr. V. M. George came to the police station and got Sunil released from custody.

Once out from the police station, Sunil went to the Kodakara Government Hospital for treating his bleeding ear. However the treatment he received at Kodakara hospital was not good enough and he had to get admitted at the Medical College Hospital on 26 September 2006. He was released the next day.

Other relevant facts:

Custodial torture and custodial death are regular features in police stations in Kerala. Policing in India is notorious for the unabated use of custodial torture. In the past few months when deaths in custody were reported from Kerala in an increasing number there was a public outcry against this. The state government requested the High Court of Kerala to provide a sitting judge to inquire into cases of custodial death. However, the court declined the request and later directed the state government to appoint a retired High Court Judge Mr. R. Rajendra Babu as an Inquiry Commission to inquire into the cases of custodial deaths in Kerala. The Commission is inquiring into this case also.

Custodial torture is not a crime in India. While the government of India takes a foot-dragging attitude in addressing custodial torture, the government of Kerala has at least admitted that custodial death is causing concern to the government. The Chief Minister and the Home Minister has admitted that the government is no more willing to tolerate torture in custody. As of now there is no mechanism with which cases of custodial torture could be prevented in India. The Criminal Procedure Code or the Indian Penal Code does not provide for any provisions by which an officer engaged in custodial torture could be punished. There are no independent investigating mechanisms in India that could investigate into cases of torture.

In most cases the victims are not able to lodge even a complaint regarding torture. The only options available now is to either approach a court by way of a private complaint under Section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code or to approach superior police officers with a complaint expecting that they would take some action against subordinate officers. Even basic requirements like proper medical care and documentation of evidence at an early stage is not possible. In many cases the successful prosecution of a case of custodial torture depends upon the medical evidence.

Often cases of police torture and killings receive no much attention other than being considered as a shame for the government, or at the most to be used by the opposition as an immediate issue to rally against the government. When new issues like massive environment pollution or suicides by farmers are taken up by the local media, cardinal issues like custodial torture looses its space in public discourse. Often this sway in general and peripheral public discourse is exploited by the governments. In the recent past custodial deaths was the front page news in most dailies in Kerala. The electronic media also was full of reports of various deaths in custody. However, what remains mystic is what action the government has taken in each of these cases. Neither the media nor the opposition parties are interested in this. It remains the concern of the family or that of the victim who suffered from the police officers. Nobody will ever turn back to them to find out what happened to their cause as the time pass by.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities mentioned below urging for an immediate and thorough investigation into these cases so that disciplinary actions are taken against the alleged perpetrators.

 

 

 

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