INDIA: Minor tortured in police custody in Madhya Pradesh

The AHRC has received information about the torture of a minor in custody at Kotwali Police Station, Katni, Madhya Pradesh. A video has been recently broadcasted in different national news networks in India displaying actions of the police, who were seeking to extract a confession from Ravi, a minor, by visciously torturing him in the Police Station. Ravi was arrested along with another minor and an adult in a case involving computer theft. 

Although the video helped in suspending two police constables, it also infuriated the SHO SPS Bhagel, since Ravi mentioned the name of the policemen who tortured him. The SHO (as alleged by the family) came to Ravi’s house, broke the gates and arrested him, while allegedly also recovering 6 grams of smack (heroine). They beat and roughed up Ravi in the house, asking him if he would inform the same to the media. When his mother protested, a lady constable beaten her up too and threatened to beat his sister-in-law as well. They also beat up his brother and then took Ravi to the Police Station. The family alleges that Ravi was kept in the Kotwali Police Station for one day before being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Ravi is a 16-year-old boy and he is the youngest of 6 siblings in his family. The father, now deceased, abandoned the family long ago, and Ravi’s mother works as household help in several homes. Most of his siblings are daily wage laborers and the family does not have any regular source of income. Several family members have been accused of theft in the past and the family is known as having a criminal background in the neighborhood. Ravi used to study in the neighborhood school named Priyanka School but has dropped out of school 8-9 years ago. The family has said that Ravi, for the past 3-4 years has been abusing alcohol, and has perhaps also been using marijuana. They say that he also has a history of picking up minor fights due to the same. Ravi has no regular source of income but takes up odd jobs for survival. 

In March 2015, the police arrested Ravi and Sandeep, who is the other juvenile, along with an adult in a case of computer theft. The police arrested them from their homes and took them to the police station. The police brutally tortured them in the Station to get them to confess. Both the juveniles were then produced in front of the Juvenile Justice Board and were released with a surety bond with the help of an advocate from the neighborhood, Mr. M.L. Yadav, who produced the school certificate where Ravi used to study to establish his juvenile status. 

In May 2015, the video of the brutal custodial torture inflicted upon the juveniles surfaced and was broadcast on 11 May 2015 on national news channels, such as Zee TV and Aaj Tak. After the video was broadcast, media persons interviewed Ravi who named some of the police officers involved in the torture done to him and to Sandeep, the other minor. The Superintendent of Police suspended 2 constables, namely Udayraj Singh and Mahendra Dubey, and ordered an inquiry to ascertain the role of another constable Lekh Singh Parihar.

This infuriated the SHO SPS Bhagel, who, according to the family, came to Ravi’s house, broke the gates, and arrested him, allegedly recovering 6 grams of smack. The police brutally beat him up in the house asking him if he would inform the same to the media. When his mother protested, a lady constable beaten her up too and threatened to beat Ravi’s sister-in-law as well. They also beat up his brother, and then took Ravi to the Police Station. The family alleges that Ravi was kept in Kotwali Station for one day before being produced to the Juvenile Justice Board.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The torture violates many provisions of Juvenile Justice (care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The provisions stipulate that the children should have had first contact with the Child Welfare Officer present in the Police Station and he/she should have spoken to the child/children in a friendly manner. Such Welfare Officers are also supposed to be in civilian clothes. But the video gives prima facie evidence that all the policemen were uniformed and that they were beating up Ravi and Sandeep.
The custodial torture of minors also violates the Section 10 (1) of the Act, which mandates the police keep the child in a special juvenile unit or in custody of the Child Welfare Officer within 8 hours of arrest. There is a special juvenile unit in Katni, but the mandatory provision was still not followed.

According to the Section 9 (10) of the MP rule 2003, the police are authorized to produce the child only in front of the Juvenile Justice Board. The police cannot, in any situation, keep the child in police lock-up or jail. Also, the authority to carry investigations against juveniles rests solely and entirely with the Juvenile Justice Board.

Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which clearly stipulates that whoever hits a child after under their control and causes possible mental or physical pain, will be punishable. This offence will be a cognizable offence.

It is important to mention that the children belong to Scheduled Tribes community, so this torture also violates the provisions of SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act.

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please write to the authorities listed below, asking them to investigate the fabrication of charges against Ravi and take necessary steps in the case and ensure a speedy and fair investigation to ascertain guilt of the responsible policemen and also to ensure their prosecution. 

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and UN Committee on the Rights of a Child calling for their intervention into this matter.

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