INDIA: A person detained in illegal custody and tortured for seven days dies soon after release

Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information through its local partner the MASUM, a human rights organisation based in West Bengal with regard to the death of Mr. Hayat Seikh, who died on 29 March 2007. Immediately prior to his death Seikh was detained by the local police for seven days and it is alleged that he was tortured while in custody. Seikh fell ill immediately upon his release and it is alleged the injuries he received from the torture led to his death.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Hayat Seikh was allegedly arrested at his residence on 17 March 2007 by police officers from Beldanga police station. The police team was led by the Officer in Charge Mr. Sandip Sen and Sub Inspector Mr. Durgaprasad Mazumdar who forced their way into Seikh’s house and took him into custody. It is also alleged that Seikh was assaulted by the officers in front of his father and wife.

After arrest Seikh was taken to Beldanga police station where he was detained till 23 March 2007. Apparently a person related to Seikh was involved in the murder of Mr. Naosad Seikh who was killed a few days before Seikh’s arrest. It is said that the alleged culprit escaped to a neighboring state Bihar and is absconding. It is alleged that Seikh was arrested to gather information about the absconding relative.

The day following the arrest Seikh’s wife went to meet him at the police station. However she was not initially allowed to do so. Later, Seikh was charged with causing a breach of the peace in the locality. On the basis of this charge Seikh was produced before the Sub Divisional Executive Magistrate on 23 March 2007 and released on the same day as per the order of the Magistrate.

Soon after release Seikh fell ill. It is alleged that Seikh had suffered serious injuries all over his body from torture, particularly on his palm, back and legs while he was in custody. It is alleged that Seikh was subjected to electric shocks and beaten with sticks while in custody. When Seikh fell ill he was admitted to Beldanga Gramin Hospital. At this hospital, the doctors found that Seikh’s condition was serious and referred him to Bahrampur Hospital for further treatment. However Seikh’s family could not afford the treatment. The AHRC is informed that Seikh’s family belongs to the category of household servants that are declared to be living below the poverty line.

On 25 March 2007 Seikh’s condition deteriorated further and he was again taken to the Gramin Hospital. On 29 March Seikh’s condition further worsened and the Gramin hospital asked Seikh to be shifted to Bahrampur hospital. However before the family could transfer Sheik to Bahrampur hospital, he died.

Soon after Seikh’s death, his wife Ms. Rahima Bewa and his brother Mr. Daud Sheik tried to lodge a complaint against the police officers whom they believe are responsible for Seikh’s death. They wanted to register a complaint against Sandip Sen and Durgaprasad Mazumdar. However, the duty officer at Beldanga police station refused to register their complaint and also abused and insulted them. Soon the news regarding Seikh’s death spread in the local community. The people in the locality organised a protest and surrounded the Beldanga police station. A senior officer was deputed to control the situation. This officer, Mr. Shahabul Hussein, the Deputy Superintendent of Police – Discipline and Training assured the public and Seikh’s family that a post mortem would be conducted ascertain the cause of death.

MASUM tried to contact Mr. Shahabul Hussein on 30 March 2007. However the officer tried to explain to MASUM that the police were not responsible for Seikh’s death and refused to provide any information regarding the incident. On the same day MASUM tried to contact the authorities at Bahrampur New General Hospital. However, MASUM was unable to meet the Chief Medical Officer (Health) or the Superintendent of the hospital. MASUM was informed that Dr. Swapan Mondal was the medical officer who conducted the post mortem examination on Sheik’s body. MASUM was also informed that the examination was held on 30 March 2007 at Bahrampur State General Hospital and that the case number of the post mortem examination was 221 dated 30 March 2007. When MASUM tried to gather further information regarding the post mortem examination they were advised by Dr. Ananda Mondal that the proceedings of the post mortem examination could be obtained from the police and he refused to provide any further information.

It is alleged that the medical doctor who conducted the post mortem examination on Seikh’s body is very close to the local police and that the doctor used to help the local police and the Border Security Force by giving false post mortem certificates in cases of custodial deaths. It is also alleged that the cause of death mentioned in the post mortem report was Jaundice. However Seikh’s family believes that Seikh was not suffering from Jaundice prior to his death and that he showed no symptoms of Jaundice.

Seikh’s widow Ms. Rahima Bewa has now filed a private complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Bahrampur accusing Mr. Sandip Sen, the Officer in Charge and Mr. Durgaprasad Mazumdar, the Sub Inspector of Police and Mr. Jalal Seikh of the murder of Hayat Seikh.

BACKGROUND INFORMATON:

In India the arrest of a person should be carried out only in compliance with certain procedures. For example, a person who is being arrested has a right to know on what grounds and under what allegation he or she is arrested. The detainee also has a right to know where he will be detained. The arresting officer, by law, is prohibited to use any force during the arrest unless in certain exceptional circumstances where either the suspect is likely to cause injury to the officers or to other persons in the vicinity. The police are also prohibited from using any force, threat or intimidation upon a detainee.

In this case however, it is evident that none of these requirements were followed by the police. Additionally, Seikh was detained for questioning and if the allegations are true Seikh was tortured in custody to extract information. There is no law in India that criminalises torture. India has not ratified the UN Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The existing laws in India are not good enough to prevent custodial torture. As is evident from this case the police employ various methods to escape liability in case a person dies from torture after release or complains about torture.

Any person arrested by the police or any other law enforcement agency must be produced before the local magistrate within 24 hours from the time of arrest. Usually the police do not record the actual time of arrest and keep the person in illegal custody until they are satisfied with their questioning, for which the police usually use brutal torture. If the police are satisfied that the person is no longer necessary they release the person with a warning that he may be required to be present before the police station as and when the police require or they produce the person before a judicial or executive magistrate charged with some petty offense. Due to threats and the impunity the police officers enjoy in the local communities no one dares to complain against a police officer when produced before a magistrate. In fact in this case after detaining Sheik for seven days he was produced before the executive magistrate charged with a petty offense. The offense though petty is of such nature that Seikh had he survived will be within the control of the local police for some period. In most cases, the executive magistrates, being mere revenue officers having only some quasi judicial authority go along with the police and issue orders according to their whims.

In this case the local police have managed their affairs in such a fashion that it would be practically difficult to frame the culprit officers. On the first hand the arrest was not recorded as required in law and by all probabilities the date of arrest in police records will be well within 24 hours from the time of production of Seikh before the executive magistrate. Seikh being charged with an offense the police got rid of all questions as to why Seikh was arrested in the first place since by law a person cannot be kept in custody to gather information against a third person. The executive magistrate either being ignorant or Seikh being under threat, there would be no proceedings within the executive magistrate’s court to show that Seikh complained about torture when he was produced before that officer.

There is also the allegation that the post mortem report has also been tampered with so that the real cause of death will never surface. The AHRC also doubts whether the external injuries, if any, would be mentioned at all in the post mortem report. Corrupt medico legal professionals cause more damage to a case than a corrupt police officer. Corruption, which is rampant in India, has not spared the medico legal experts.

In West Bengal in particular there are more possibilities for the police to tamper with the post mortem procedures due to the overwhelming amount of loopholes in the procedures. For example unlike in many other states bodies requiring post mortem examination related to a police case is kept under separate custody by the police. This period could be ranging from days to months. Often the places where such bodies are kept suffer from lack of electricity to run the deep freezer or lack any preserving mechanisms. In many cases by the time the bodies are examined, they might have deteriorated due to putrefaction. During this period the local police have unrestricted access to the bodies so it is possible to tamper with them as they please.

The post mortem examination also often suffers from other problems like lack of experts and equipment. In many cases reported from West Bengal, there are no doctors who could conduct proper post mortem examinations. This has led to a situation where in many cases examinations are conducted by helpers posted in hospitals. Doctors merely sign the reports prepared by the helpers, without even seeing the body once. None of these corrupt and faulty procedures are sought to be corrected by the West Bengal authorities so far, in spite of several calls for the same from local and international human rights groups.

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your concerns over this case asking them to intervene in this case immediately. A thorough investigation into the case must be ordered. It is also imperative that a separate and detailed inquiry is ordered into the arrest and detention of Mr. Hayat Seikh in this case. The officers responsible for the arrest, the Officer in Charge and the Sub Inspector of the Beldanga Police Station must be immediately removed from active service so that they will not be in a position to tamper with the investigation into this case. The AHRC is also writing to the UN agencies expressing its concern in the case asking for an intervention.

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