Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from People’s Watch Tamil Nadu concerning the torture, arrest and detention of a lawyer in Madurai. The victim was hospitalised after the incident, though no appropriate actions were taken against the police officers.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. S. Sabitha
National Programme Coordinator
Human Rights Defenders’ Desk
People’s Watch
6. Vallabhai Road, Madurai 625002
Tamil Nadu
INDIA
Email: sabitha@pwtn.org
Case in Brief:
Mr. N. Ganesan (40 years) son of Mr. P. Narayanan, residing at Plot No 7, Jeyaraj Nagar, Vilangudi, Madurai 625 018 is a practicing lawyer in Madurai and a member of the Madurai Bar Association. He is incidentally also an active member of the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and the Convener of the Rural District Lawyers’ wing of the DK. In addition to this he has also been a past trainee on human rights of People’s Watch and is presently functioning as a Pro Bono lawyer of the Citizens for Human Rights Movement (CHRM) a human rights movement, being promoted by People’s Watch.
Mr. N. Ganesan was brutally beaten and abused by several senior police officials of Madurai city on 6 February at about 7.30 PM at the northern entrance of S.S. Colony and now admitted in ward No 206 of the Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre for the injuries sustained by him.
The details gather herein have been personally collected by the undersigned, Mr. Henri Tiphagne, the Executive Director of People’s Watch.
Detailed case:
Mr. N. Ganesan (40 years) son of Mr. P. Narayanan, residing at Plot No 7, Jeyaraj Nagar, Vilangudi, Madurai 625 018 is a practicing lawyer in Madurai and a member of the Madurai Bar Association. He is incidentally also an active member of the Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and the Convener of the Rural District Lawyers’ wing of the DK. In addition to this he has also been a past trainee on human rights of People’s Watch and is presently functioning as a Pro Bono lawyer of the Citizens for Human Rights Movement (CHRM) a human rights movement, being promoted by People’s Watch.
On the late evening of 6 February at about 7.30 PM the Madurai City Police were on a vehicle verification exercise as ordered by the Commissioner of Police Madurai City at different points in the City. One such police party was located and carrying on its duty at the northern entrance of SS Colony, opposite Devaki Scans. The said police party was headed by Mr. Gopalakrishnan, the Crime Inspector of Police of Karimedu Police station and comprised one woman SI with about 10 police constables all carrying lathis in their hands. They were all functioning within the limits of Madurai City Police Commissionerate headed by Mr. Balasubramanian IPS as its Police Commissioner and Ms. Jeyshree as its Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order).
Mr. N. Ganesan came with a pillion rider on his bike (TVS Centra TN 59 V 7853) and was passing by that side when he was stopped by the said Inspector mentioned supra. He was initially asked to produce his driving license which he did patiently and then on seeing the same he was further asked to produce his RC book of his two-wheeler. Mr. Ganesan searched for the same having parked the bike on the stand and then not finding it on his bike told the inspector that the same was at home and that he would be willing to produce it to him immediately after brining it from home. The said Inspector of Police asked him to leave the bike and go home at which point of time he identified himself as a lawyer, produced his lawyer ID card issued by the Bar Council of Tamilnadu and also gave him his visiting card. But the Inspector of Police refused to allow him to leave and insisted that he go home and bring the RC book after which he would be allowed to take his bike. So saying, the Inspector came forward to forcibly take the key of the bike from the front side of the bike, which was prevented by Mr. N. Ganesan. Seeing the Advocate refusing to allow the Inspector of police take the bike key, the police men standing around and armed with their lathis (batons) started beating the lawyer on his head, hands and legs immediately causing him bleeding injuries and as a result of which the bike fell down towards the right side of the lawyer and the lawyer who had been beaten and therefore lost his balance fell on the opposite side (left) on the Inspector of police who was standing beside him. The policemen standing there, listening to the orders of the Inspector of Police, then arrested Mr. N. Ganesan and started forcibly taking him to the police jeep nearby and while doing so, the Inspector of Police held Mr. N. Ganesan by his throat from the front and threatened him while the other police constables continued to beat him mercilessly. Mr. N. Ganesan was put into the vehicle from behind and while he was inside the vehicle, was continuously abused in filthy language by the policemen challenging him as a lawyer for having refused to obey a police officer on duty. He was not even spared by the driver of the police jeep who on his part also abused the advocate and ordered the other constables sitting behind to immediately seize the advocate’s mobile. This was also carried out by the constables and he was taken in the vehicle to the S.S. Colony Police station.
It is pertinent to note that although the lawyer was arrested by this police team on the orders of the Inspector of Police Mr. Gopalakrishnan at the northern entrance to SS Colony, there was no arrest memo supplied to the lawyer at the place of arrest as required by the directions of the National Human Rights Commission of India at time of arrest nor was the arrest memo signed by a friend of the lawyer who was travelling with him as a pillion rider. Thus all norms to be followed by the police while arresting a person were not followed in this case after subjecting him to ‘torture’ within the meaning of Art 1 of the UN Convention against Torture.
At the police station, a few minutes after the lawyer had been brought, arrived a young lady dressed in salwar kameez who was identified by the other police personnel as Ms. Jeyshree, the Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Madurai City. The lawyer immediately started complaining to her what had actually happened since she was a senior police official and hoping that she would immediately intervene on his behalf after listening to how shabbily he had been treated by the Inspector of Police. However as he started narrating she abruptly shut him down and started rudely addressing him in the singular and with disrespect. The lawyer patiently reminded her that he was a practicing lawyer to which she continued to address him in the singular and then further ordered him rudely to sit down on the floor (as accused in police stations are normally ordered to) and not stand and address her. The lawyer continued to remind her that he was an advocate, to which she later rudely answered stating that she had also been a lawyer prior to joining the police force and an APP for more than 7 years and that she knew who lawyers were and what they were capable of and did not bother who he was. In Tamil she rudely referred to lawyers as a community and said that lawyers like him were ‘Nethu penja malaila, iniku molaicha kaalan’ – mushrooms that sprouted in the previous day’s showers. All his pleas to bring what had happened to her official notice totally failed and in fact his simple plea to ask for his mobile number so that he could inform his friends about what had happened to him also totally failed. It was then only a member of the Intelligence Service of the Commissioner of Police of the City who identified that he was belonging to the DK party since he had seen him address several public meetings in the past and then it is he who had passed on the news so that it reached Mr. Mahendran, Lawyer, a Member of the Bar Council of Tamilnadu and the senior advocate of Mr. N. Ganesan.
All this while the bleeding cut injuries that Mr. N. Ganesan had suffered on his fore head and the lathi charge all over his body had resulted in his shirt being totally blood stained and sever loss of blood., But there was no effort on the part of the police to provide him a medical memo and rush him to using the services of an ambulance (108) or any other vehicle there to a neighboring hospital for immediate medical attention.
It was only after the arrival of Mr. Mahendran, Advocate at the police station with about 15 to 20 lawyers that the DC (Crime) Ms Jeyshree allowed them to take Mr. N. Ganesan to the hospital on their own providing them a medical memo for the same. Mr. N. Ganesan was then taken to the Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre and after a thorough medical examination and treatment was admitted in ward no 206.
Following Mr. N. Ganesan to hospital were Mr. Muniasamy Sub Inspector of Police and Constable Jeyabal of SS Colony PS who were asking him to provide a statement but since he was in deep pain with lathi charge injuries all over his body he refused to speak to them at that time.
Thereafter when Mr. Henri Tiphagne, the Executive Director of People’s Watch was present to meet the injured lawyer at 10 Am in the hospital ward Mr. Dharmar Inspector of Police came to the hospital ward asking Mr. N. Ganesan to come forward and provide him a complaint so that he could settle the matter amicably. Mr. N. Ganesan stated categorically that he had stated all that had happened personally to Ms. Jeyshree (DC Crime) when she came to the SS Colony PS and hence that could be sufficient to register an FIR against the Inspector Gopalakrishnan and the other police who had committed this brutal torture upon him. But he insisted upon a statement and it was only when he saw the presence of some senior lawyers present inside the ward that he left the ward immediately. When Mr. Dharmar, in his capacity as the Inspector of Police of S.S.Colony PS was asked specifically by Mr. Henri Tiphagne whether there was any FIR registered against Mr. N. Ganesan, he was replied to that he would not be able to divulge such information but continuously referred to Mr. N. Ganesan as an ‘accused’. Mr. Henri Tiphagne was then also witness to Mr. Dharmar being called inside the room subsequently to record the statement of Mr. N. Ganesan. Mr. Henri Tiphagne later also learnt that around 1.30 PM on 8 February there were still efforts being made to persuade Mr. N. Ganesan change the statement provided to delete the name of Ms. Jeyshree from the complaint and only to ‘implicate ‘ the police men and Inspector.
Appeal:
Urge authorities to:
– Take immediate steps to reduce the lawyer’s oral complaint to the DC (Crimes) Ms. Jeyshree at the S. S. Colony Police station on 6th Feb 2010 around 8.00 PM as a complaint preferred at that point of time against the police as an FIR;
– Take immediate steps against the DC (Crime) Ms. Jeyshree for her rude and indecent language and behavior to Mr. N. Ganesan at the S. S. Colony police station and her vulgar references to lawyers as a community;
– Take immediate steps against the DC (Crime) Ms. Jeyshree for not having ensured that the proper arrest procedure of Mr. N. Ganesan had been followed by providing him the arrest memo at the point of arrest (entrance of SS Colony) and not even ensuring that it was carried out after her arrival to the PS;
– Meet all the medical expenses incurred by Mr. N. Ganesan at the private hospital due to injuries suffered as a result of the police torture inflicted upon him;
Regards,
Sabitha
PWTN
Please send your letters to:
1. Dr. M. Karunanidhi
Chief Minister and Home Minister
Government of Tamil Nadu
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
INDIA
Fax: + 91 44 25670596
Email: homesec@tn.gov.in
2. Principal Secretary to the Government
Ministry of Home, Prohibition and Excise
Government of Tamil Nadu
Chennai
INDIA
Fax: + 91 44 25670596
Email: homesec@tn.gov.in
3. District Collector
Collectorate
Madurai District, Tamil Nadu
INDIA
Fax: + 91 452 2530925
Email: collrmdu@tn.nic.in
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
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