UPDATE (Nepal): Father and son die in custody due to police torture in Panchthar district

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a partner organization, The Advocacy Forum, (AF) that two civilians, Dal Bahadur and his son Bikram Gyanmi Magar, have died following brutal torture in police custody at Prangbung Police Post of Panchthar District on February 13, 2010 and February 21, 2010 respectively. We are informed that the victim’s family prepared an FIR (First Investigation Report) with regard to these deaths but under pressure from police authorities and the public, the names of three police officers who were allegedly involved in the incidents of torture, were removed. It is urgent that the cases of both men be thoroughly and impartially investigated, and that those responsible for the two deaths be held accountable in a civilian court. The two men were arrested at the same time as Sanjaya Pulami Magar, whose torture case was denounced by the AHRC last week (For further details, please see: AHRC-UAC-025-2010).

CASE DETAILS:

Victim-1: Mr. Bikram Gyanmi Magar
Bikram Gyanmi Magar, 19 years old, from Pranbung VDC-04, Jyamire village, Panchthar District, was forcibly caught by villagers at around 9 am on February 12, 2010. The villagers also seized his brother Dil Kumar Gyanmi, 16, and neighbours Sanjaya Pulami Magar, 30, and Dipendra Magar, 17 and accused them of stealing water pipes belonging to a project that was to be implemented in the village. The villagers called the police, and the accused were handed over to a team of police officials, including ASI Firal Mahato; the Head Constable Indra Narayan Shah and Constable Yubraj Shrestha.

The police officials took the four accused to the Prangbung Police Post where they were subjected to torture for three hours. While they were being interrogated, the police beat them on their backs, feet and legs as well as on other parts of their bodies. Following this, the accused confessed to the charges that were had been leveled against them. Police then took them out onto the premises where local villagers were lingering, and joined forces with the villagers to indiscriminately beat the accused for half an hour, until they confessed to the thefts in front of the crowd of villagers.

Following the confession, the villagers accused the detainees of yet another theft which took place on Feb 8, 2010 in the home of Ait Singh Tamang, which involved 50.000 NRS and some gold. The police then took them back into the police office and beat them further. When the torture became unbearable, Bikram Gyanmi Magar confessed to the crime, and told the police that he had hidden the gold and the money in a barn in the Chitre area. The police informed the villagers about this, and at around 5pm that day, Head Constable Indra Narayan Sha and Constable Yubraj Shrestha took the accused to the area in order to collect the stolen gold and money. Some ten to fifteen villagers also joined in on the excursion. When arriving at the barn in which Bikram had claimed the gold and money was hidden, the police could not find it, and so they accused him of lying and began beating him.

In order to avoid further abuse, Bikram then claimed that the money and gold was actually hidden in Devisthan, Khotang, near his home village. The police and the villagers began the long walk back, but when finally arriving there they could not find the stolen goods. Again, they started beating Bikram who, in order to save himself, claimed that he had given the money and the gold to his father Dal Bahadur Gyanmi Magar. When the group reached Dal’s house on the morning of February 13 to enquire about the stolen goods, he denied the allegations, and scolded his son for telling lies.

At around 10.30 am on Feb 13, 2010 the police arrested Dal and took him to the Prangbung Police Post. Bikram was also brought along and was detained there for a short while, before being transferred to the District Police Office (DPO) in Panchthar, on the evening of February 13, 2010.

By February 16, Bikram’s health had radically deteriorated and he was taken to the district hospital in Fidim where he received general treatment. After treatment, he was returned to the DPO where he was being detained. However, despite treatment at the district hospital, Bikram’s health continued to deteriorate, and on February 21 he was again taken to the district hospital in Fidim where they were unable to treat him, and hence he was transferred to the BPKIHS hospital in Dharan. Bikram died at the BPKIHS hospital at around 8pm on February 21, 2010.

Victim-2 Mr. Dal Bahadur Gyanmi Magar
At around 10.30 am on February 13, 2010 the 42 year old Dal Bahadur Gyanmi Magar, resident of Pranbung VDC-04, Jyamire of Panchthar District, was arrested by police officers of Prangbung Police Station on the charge of theft. Dal was accused of having stolen gold and money from a villager named Ait Singh Tamang; a crime which Dal insisted he was innocent of.

Following the arrest, the police officers brought Dal Bahadur back to the premises of the Prangbung Police Post, where he was allegedly severely tortured. The police officers first made Dal take his jacket off, and then began beating him with bamboo sticks. He was also continuously punched and kicked by the police officers, but he refused to confess to the charges laid upon him.

As the torture did not result in a confession, Head Constable Indra Narayan Sha invited local villagers into the police office premises to beat the accused. The villagers began hitting him indiscriminately with the same bamboo sticks as the police officers had used, which led Dal to become semi- unconscious.

Dal was then taken into the Prangbung Police Post where he was severely tortured for another three hours. The police officers beat him with bamboo sticks, and then hung him upside down and kept beating him until he was completely unconscious. Dal was then taken outside again, where water was poured onto his body in an attempt to revive him. When he did not respond, Policewoman Constable Ganga Maya Tamang assumed he was pretending to be unconscious to save himself from further beatings, so she kicked him on the head and the mouth. This was what caused Dal Bahadur’s death, which happened at around 4pm on February 13, 2010.

Policemen subsequently dragged Dal’s body to a health post, where he was soon declared dead. Along with some of the villagers, the police officers then prepared a report of the incident stating that Dal was epileptic and died due to seizures caused by the stress of the interrogation.

At 8pm on February 13, 2010 Dal’s body was taken to the DPO in Panchthar, Fidim, where Dal’s eldest son Indra Bahadur Gyanmi had to receive the dead body. A three point agreement was then made at the DPO between the police, the public and the victim’s family, establishing that the victim’s family will receive compensation; the two sons of the deceased will be provided with government jobs and legal action will be taken against the perpetrators. Additionally, the DPO provided the victim’s family with 50.000 NRS in order to cover the funeral charges.

The agreement that was made at the DPO between the police, the public and the victim’s family following Dal’s death was not a mutual agreement, as the victim’s family was forced by the police and the public to sign it. The agreement is very vague as it does not clearly specify the nature of the compensation that the victim’s family will enjoy, nor does it detail the legal action that will be taken against the perpetrators. The agreement must not be mistaken for a formal legally binding agreement which could replace an actual prosecution of the perpetrators.

The implicated police officers are denying any involvement in Dal’s and Bikram’s deaths. However, a police committee led by Inspector Sunil Dahal from the DPO has been formed to investigate the cases, but the outcome of the post mortems and the investigations is yet to be revealed. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also visited the place of the incidents, but its investigation was obstructed by locals. Only following reassurances that no local villager was on the list of alleged perpetrators was the NHRC allowed to enter. The police also tried to influence the Advocacy Forum’s fact finding team into not publicizing these cases.

An FIR (First Information Report) has been prepared with regards to the two custodial deaths by the victims’ family, but after pressure from the police authorities and the public, only ASI Firal Prasad Mahato and Head Constable Indra Narayan Shah have been mentioned as perpetrators in this report. Constables Yuv Raj Shrestha, Raj Kiran Chaudhary and Ganga Maya Tamang were removed from the report altogether.

(Please see the pictures: injuries on Dal’s feet, injuries on Dal’s legs, bruises on Dal’s back, injuries on Dal’s leg)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The AHRC reported last week about the severe beating inflicted upon Sanjaya Pulami Magar who was arrested along with Bikram and Dal Bahadur Gyanmi Magar. He was kept in illegal detention from February 13 to February 21 and was provided only with common medicines insufficient for his health condition. He was eventually released on ordinary bail by the District Court, Panchthar after no sufficient evidence was gathered against him. For more details, please see: AHRC-UAC-25-2010.

The AHRC has, on numerous occasions, denounced the use of torture by police forces in Nepal, and the prevalence of impunity which protects the perpetrators.

As party to the International Convention Against Torture, Nepal is mandated to ensure that victims of an act of torture obtain redress and has an enforceable right to adequate and fair compensation. In reality, the victims seeking redress have to overcome often insurmountable obstacles to obtain justice, such as police obstructions and judicial negligence. The AHRC has already reported several allegations of police officers threatening torture victims into withdrawing their complaint (please refer to AHRC-UAU-056-2008 and AHRC-UAC-195-2008) or cases in which allegations of torture were investigated by police officers belonging to the same police station as the alleged perpetrators (please refer to AHRC-UAU-028-2008 and AHRC-UAU-010-2008). The lack of accountability of the police system clearly results in ensuring the protection of the perpetrators of torture and leaving the victims without any legal remedies to it.

As there is currently no law criminalizing torture in Nepal, the emphasis is put on compensation for acts of torture in order to elude the need for criminal sanctions against the perpetrators. This further adds to the difficulties faced by the victims and their families fighting to obtain justice and accountability in an impaired criminal justice system. The fact that local villagers were involved in the coercion of the victims’ family to sign the agreement speaks to the fact that torture at the hands of state agents is common and acceptable.

The death of two persons following excessive police torture must force the Nepalese authorities to face their responsibilities to bring accountability and transparency to the interrogation process and the policing system. This case clearly reveals the most dramatic consequences to which the trivialization of the practice of torture and general neglect and disinterest from the competent authorities can lead. It is now time to take strong and concrete measures to make sure this will be the last time Nepalese citizens die of torture at the hands of state agents.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please join us in writing to the competent authorities urging for the proper investigation of this case and asking for the accountability of the perpetrators of torture.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Question of Torture, Extrajudicial and Summery or Arbitrary Executions and the Field Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER