Dear Friends
Please act on the information below, forwarded from OMCT, and write to the authorities in India, urging them to investigate, and take action against, those members of the Police in Vittukatti who carried out the inhuman acts of humiliation, sexual abuse, and torture.
Case IND 040703
Arbitrary detention/Torture/Impunity
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 People’s Watch Tamil Nadu, a member of the OMCT network, of the humiliation and torture of people in the name of a police inquiry in Vittukatti, India.
According to the information received, on May 5th, 2003, residents in the Tiruthuraipoondi Taluk area noticed a foul smell emanating from a neighbour’s home. When, on the following day, the smell became overpowering and a boy sent to the home noticed blood, residents called the police and the Panchayat president. The police discovered the bloated body of Padmavathy in the kitchen. The next day relatives came to clean the house and discovered another foul smell from the wooden structure where the grain was stored, they found the dead body of Padmavathy’s 2 1/2 year old grandson. They also found Padmavathy’s daughter’s corpse under the wooden structure. The police were immediately informed, but did not arrive until later. During this time angry residents staged a “Road-Roko” on the Thiruthuraipoondi-Mannargudi road protesting the indifference of the policeman regarding the situation. The protestors dispersed peacefully.
On May 10th, 2003, the police began questioning residents in the area. Neighbours and relatives of Padmavathy were brought to the police station where they were detained, interrogated, humiliated, and tortured. Mr. Kandi Rajendran and Ms. Tamilselvi, a husband and wife who live in the house behind Padmavathy’s; Mr. K. Baskaran (35), a relative of Padmavathy; Mrs. Jayalakshmi, a neighbour; and Mr. D. Sasikumar Swaminathan, Mr. P. S. Mohan (38), Mr. Natarajan (29), Mr. T. Ravi (38), Mr. S. Vedanayagam (27), Mr. K. Saravanan (27) and Mr. Set Selvaraj (44), all of whom who are residents in the area, were among the individuals detained and tortured by officials of the Tiruthuraipoondi Police Station.
The treatment that these victims were subjected to included various forms of physical and mental torture. Mrs. Jayalakshmi was reportedly beaten in the presence of her child. Many of the individuals brought in for questioning were forced to strip naked. They were punched, kicked, and slapped by police officers. Police officers stamped on the victims’ bodies with boot-clad feet. The victims were beaten with lathis and nearly strangled. They were threatened at gunpoint. Some victims were handcuffed and gagged. One victim, Mr. S. Vedanayagam, was suspended from a tree by a long chain and beaten. Officers urinated on the faces of some of the detainees when they requested water, and forced them to drink the urine. The officers forced some of the men to fondle or suck the penis of the other detainees or officers. The detainees were verbally abused and their families threatened. They were told not to report their treatment to any human rights organisation and some were told not to seek medical treatment at a hospital. Many of the released detainees are being forced to return to the police station to sign their names every day. The victims have been left with numerous physical and psychological injuries as the result of their torture.
The police officers who participated in the torture and whose names are known include: DSP Murthy, DSP Abdud Razzak, SI Prabhu, SI Kanakarajan, Head Constable Iqbal, Inspector Jayaraman, Gopi, Head Constable Bakkiri, Radha, and Ms. Mary (at the women’s police station). Many other officers were involved in the ill-treatment and torture whose names are unknown, but can reportedly be identified by the victims. Most of the torture appears to have been aimed at getting the individuals being questioned to admit to committing, or participating in the murders.
According to the information receives, all of the persons that were arrested in relation with these events have now been released, but there has been no investigation launched into these serious allegations of torture and none of the victims have received any kind of reparation for the treatment that they were subjected to. It is reported that the person who is believed to have been responsible for the murders (whose identity and condition are not currently known) was finally apprehended following a tip-off, but was not part of the series of arrests mentioned above. The person in question reportedly immediately confessed to having committed the murders during an attempted burglary when the police came to question him. OMCT urges the authorities to ensure that he receives a prompt and fair trial before an impartial court and that his procedural rights are guaranteed at all times.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the aforementioned torture victims and their families, given the threats that they have received, and calls upon the Indian government to take all measures necessary to guarantee their personal integrity and that of their families. OMCT calls on the Indian government to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the serious allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT urges the authorities to ensure that the victims receive adequate reparation, including access to medical assistance, where required.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the aforementioned persons;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, both the murders and the grave allegations of arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment and torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee adequate reparation to all injured persons, including access to adequate medical assistance where required;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses:
· Shri. A.P.J. Abdul kalam, President of India, Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi – 110001 India, Fax: + 91 112 23017290,
E-mail:Pressecy@sansad.nic.in
· Shri. Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi – 110001, India, Fax: + 91 112 23019545 or 23016857,
E-mail: vajpayee@sansad.nic.in
· Justice A.S.Anand, Hon’ble Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi – 110001 India, Fax: 011-3340016 /3366537,
E-mail : nhrc@ren.nic.in
· Dr. J. Jayalalitha, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Fort St. George, Chennai Tamilnadu, India, Fax no:- 044- 8258101,
E-Mail :cmcell@sec.tn.gov.
· Mr. Sayed Munir Hoda, IAS, Home Secretary, State Government of Tamilnadu, Fort St. George, Chennai, Tamilnadu, Fax: 044 – 256 70 596
· Ambassador Puri, Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse,
e-mail : mission.india@ties.itu.int,
fax: +41 22 90686 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, July 4th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : omct@omct.org
http://www.omct.org
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
