Dear Friends,
The AHRC has received information from its partner organization MASUM that a man was allegedly forcibly picked up from his shop by officials of the Excise department, beaten up, and left at the emergency gate of the Dinhata Sub-Divisional Hospital in West Bengal. He was declared “brought dead”.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The victim, Sachin Barman, used to run a snacks shop in the market in Gitaldah Harirhat, Cooch Behar District of West Bengal. On 4 April 2016, while he was selling snacks at his shop, a car bearing the number plate WB 63A174 came to his shop. Four male and two female officers from the Excise department alighted and forcibly put the victim and another person, namely Mr. Fanindranath Barman, into the car. No memo of arrest was issued, and, according to the eyewitness, Mr Fanindranath Barman, the victim was beaten up and thrashed in the car, which made him him lose consciousness.
The officials then tried to leave the victim at Atiya Barir Chara, but due to people in the locality gathering around, they took the victim and left him at the emergency gate of Dinhata Sub-Divisional Hospital and fled. It is reported that the doctor present at the time noted down the number of the car (WB 63A 1740) in which the victim was brought at the Hospital. The victim was declared “brought dead”.
A fact-finding exercise conducted by MASUM has revealed that there were eyewitnesses to the incident involving the victim and Mr. Fanindranath being forcibly dragged into the car and taken away. They are Mr. Banikanta Barman (son of late Umananda Barman of Paramanand Village) and Mr. Majirul Rahman (son of Joynal Mia of Gitaldah Village).
Furthermore, during the fact-finding exercise, statements of people in the locality and eye-witnesses revealed that Mr. Upendranath Roy, Sub-Inspector of the Excise Department, Cooch Behar, was one of the police personnel who abducted the victim and Mr. Fanindranath Barman and put them into the car.
The police of Dinhata Police Station have registered a case of unnatural death 46/2016, dated 4 April 2016. The post mortem examination of the victim was held on 5 April 2016 at the post mortem section at M.J.N. Hospital, Cooch Behar.
On 4 April 2016, Mr. Nanigopal Barman, nephew of the victim, submitted a written complaint before the Inspector-in-Charge of the Dinhata Police Station, giving details of the circumstances leading up to the death of the victim. The police registered a criminal case no. 334/2016, dated 4 April 2016.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In this case, fundamental procedural safeguards were not followed. S.50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, mandates that the person arrested must be informed about the grounds of arrest and of his or her right to bail. Furthermore, S.50A (1) mandates that the officers making the arrest have an obligation to inform someone else nominated by the person arrested about the arrest and the place where the person arrested is being detained. Also, under S.50A (3) the police are mandated to document the name and details of the person who has been informed about the arrest. These mandates flow from the constitutional guarantees in Part III of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 20 (Protection in respect of conviction of offences) and 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty), and, most importantly, 22 (Protection against Arrest and Detention in certain cases), which details the fundamental procedural safeguards to be followed. The landmark case of D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal (AIR 1997 SC 610) deals with the issue of custodial death and police accountability and lists 11 guidelines for arrest. The Supreme Court, in the D.K. Basu case, expressed alarm at the rise of torture and custodial deaths in India:
“The increasing incidence of torture and death in custody has assumed such alarming proportions that it is affecting the credibility of the Rule of Law and the administration of criminal justice system. The community rightly feels perturbed. Society’s cry for justice becomes louder…
22. Custodial death is perhaps one of the worst crimes in a civilised society governed by the Rule of Law. The rights inherent in Articles 21 and 22(1) of the Constitution require to be jealously and scrupulously protected. We cannot wish away the problem. Any form of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment would fall within the inhibition of Article
21 of the Constitution, whether it occurs during investigation, interrogation or otherwise.”
In the present case, the police officers brazenly flouted every safeguard mandated by the law, as detailed above. They have tortured the man, which has allegedly caused his death.
The Supreme Court in the case of Nilabati Bahera vs. State of Orissa [(1993) Crl. LJ 2899] awarded exemplary damages to the petitioner for the custodial death of her son and in the case of D.K. Basu (supra) also, the Court went on to speak of the punitive aspect of such malicious state action, and stated that mere punishment alone will not suffice, and that in such cases the family members of the deceased must be provided with compensation.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the following authorities calling on them to provide compensation to the victim’s family, to conduct an investigation, and to take necessary action against the Excise Department officials in this case.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, for its intervention into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
INDIA: Illegal arrest, alleged torture, and murder of man in West Bengal by Excise Department officials
Name of victims: Sachin Barman
Names of alleged perpetrators: Mr. Upendranath Roy, Sub-Inspector of the Excise Department and other Excise Department officials
Place of incident: Gitaldah Harirhat, Cooch Behar, West Bengal
I am writing to you to voice my deep concern about the illegal arrest and alleged torture and murder of a shopkeeper in West Bengal by Excise Department officials.
The victim, Sachin Barman used to run a snacks shop in the market in Gitaldah Harirhat, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. On 4 April 2016, while he was selling snacks at his shop, a car bearing the number plate WB 63A174 came to his shop. Four male and two female officers from the Excise Department alighted and forcibly put the victim and another person namely Mr. Fanindranath Barman into the car. No memo of arrest was issued, and, according the eyewitness, Mr Fanindranath Barman, the victim was beaten up and thrashed in the car, as a result of which he lost consciousness.
The officials then tried to leave the victim at Atiya Barir Chara but due to people in the locality gathering around, they took the victim and left him at the emergency gate of Dinhata Sub-Divisional Hospital and fled. It is reported that the doctor present at the time noted down the number of the car (WB 63A 1740) in which the victim was brought at the Hospital. The victim was declared “brought dead”.
A fact-finding exercise conducted by the NGO MASUM has revealed that there were eyewitnesses to the incident of the victim and Mr. Fanindranath being forcibly dragged into the car and being taken away. They are Mr. Banikanta Barman (son of late Umananda Barman of Paramanand Village) and Mr. Majirul Rahman (son of Joynal Mia of Gitaldah Village). Further, during the fact finding exercise, statements of people of the locality and eye-witnesses revealed that Mr. Upendranath Roy, Sub-Inspector of the Excise Department, Cooch Behar, was one of the officials who abducted the victim and Mr. Fanindranath Barman in the car.
The police of Dinhata Police Station registered a case of unnatural death 46/2016, dated 4 April 2016. The post mortem examination of the victim was held on 5 April 2016 at the post mortem section at M.J.N. Hospital, Cooch Behar. On 4 April 2016, Mr. Nanigopal Barman, nephew of the victim, submitted a written complaint before the Inspector-in-Charge of the Dinhata Police Station, giving details of the circumstances leading up to the death of the victim. The police registered criminal case no. 334/2016 dated 4 April 2016.
I have learnt that S.50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, mandates that the person arrested must be informed of the grounds of arrest and of his right to bail. Furthermore, S.50A (1) mandates that the officers making the arrest have an obligation to inform someone else nominated by the person arrested about the arrest and the place where the person arrested is being detained. Also, under S.50A (3), the police are mandated to document the name and details of the person who has been informed about the arrest. I have been informed that these mandates flow from the constitutional guarantees in Part III of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 20 (Protection in respect of conviction of offences) and 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty), and, most importantly, 22 (Protection against Arrest and Detention in certain cases), which details the fundamental procedural safeguards to be followed.
The landmark case of D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal (AIR 1997 SC 610) deals with the issue of custodial death and police accountability and lists 11 guidelines for arrest. The Supreme Court, in the D.K. Basu case, expressed alarm at the rise of torture and custodial deaths in India:
“The increasing incidence of torture and death in custody has assumed such alarming proportions that it is affecting the credibility of the Rule of Law and the administration of criminal justice system. The community rightly feels perturbed. Society’s cry for justice becomes louder…
22. Custodial death is perhaps one of the worst crimes in a civilised society governed by the Rule of Law. The rights inherent in Articles 21 and 22(1) of the Constitution require to be jealously and scrupulously protected. We cannot wish away the problem. Any form of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment would fall within the inhibition of Article
21 of the Constitution, whether it occurs during investigation, interrogation or otherwise.”
In the present case, these officials brazenly flouted every safeguard mandated by the law, as detailed above. They have tortured the man, which allegedly caused his death.
It has been brought to my attention that the Supreme Court in the case of Nilabati Bahera vs. State of Orissa [(1993) Crl. LJ 2899] awarded exemplary damages to the petitioner for the custodial death of her son and in the case of D.K. Basu (supra). Also, the Court went on to speak of the punitive aspect of such malicious state action, and stated that mere punishment alone will not suffice, and that in such cases the family members of the deceased must be provided with compensation.
I wish for much-needed attention to be brought, on a global scale, to this grave situation of custodial death and human rights abuse. I hope the authorities are pressurized to take action.
Therefore, I request you to:
• Ensure the matter is inquired into by the Commission’s own investigating wing;
• Order an inquiry by a Judicial Magistrate to ascertain the reason for the illegal arrest and the actual cause of death of the victim in custody;
• Register a crime, book the offending officials for torture, and investigate their alleged criminal behavior;
• Suspend, immediately, those officials who have committed the alleged torture, pending enquiry;
• Instruct the Government of West Bengal to provide interim compensation to the family of the victim.
Yours Sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
The Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
Manav Adhikar Bhawan
Block-C, G.P.O. Complex, INA
New Delhi-110023
2. Shri Rajnath Singh
Minister of Home Affairs
Room no 104, North Block, Central Secretariat
New Delhi – 110001
INDIA
Tel: +9111 23092462
Fax: +9111 23094221
3. Smt Mamata Bannerjee
Chief Minister, West Bengal
NABANNA (14th Floor)
325, Sarat Chatterjee Road,
Shibpur, Howrah-711102
Telephone: (033)2214-5555, 2214-3101
Fax: (033)2214-3528
E-mail: cm@wb.gov.in
4 Dr Manjula Chellur,
Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court,
3, Esplanade Row West
Kolkata, Pin – 700 001
Ph: 033 2242-9158
5. GMP.Reddy,
DG & IGp, West Bengal Police
Nabanna, 325 Sarat Chatterjee Road
Howrah- 711 102
Ph: 033-2214-5400
Fax: 033-2214-1139
6. Sri. Sunil Kumar Yadav, IPS
Superintendent of Police, Cooch Behar,
West Bengal
Ph: 03582-227755 (O), 227632 (R), 222745 (Fax)
E-mail : (i) spcbr@policewb.gov.in & (ii) spcbr-wb@nic.in
7. Debasish Roy, IPS
ADG & IGP ,West Bengal Human Rights Commission
Purta Bhavan, 2nd Floor, Block-DF,
Sector – I, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091
Ph: 033-2409-5273
E-mail: wbhrc8@bsnl.in
hrcwb2013@gmail.com
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
