INDIA: A mother running pillar to post to get her son released from illegal detention

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner the PVCHR, a human rights organisation based in Varanasi, regarding the case of Mr. Pahalu Musahar who is currently detained by the Cholapur police in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. It is reported that the police has detained Pahalu to force his brother Umesh to surrender at the police station. It is alleged that Pahalu is tortured by the police to disclose where his younger brother Umesh is hiding, about which Pahalu has no information whatsoever.

CASE DETAILS:

Pahalu Musahar is the second son of Ms. Chanda Musahar. Chanda has four sons and two daughters. Of the six children Umesh, the third son, was involved in some criminal activities and has run away from home since the past ten years. The family has no information whatsoever about Umesh’s current whereabouts.

On May 21, 2007 at about 6pm a police constable from Cholapur Police Station came to Pahalu’s house and asked to give directions to his sister Bibi’s house. Pahalu asked the constable why the constable wanted to go there for which the constable informed him that he wanted to question Bibi’s husband about Umesh’s whereabouts. Pahalu agreed and took the constable to his sister’s house. At his sister’s house the constable asked Bibi’s husband whether he knew about Umesh’s whereabouts. Bibi’s husband said that since nobody knows where Umesh is they cannot give any useful information.

The constable then asked Bibi’s husband to come along with him to the police station. He refused, informing the constable that even if he comes, he will find it difficult to return since he is suffering from night blindness. The constable then contacted his superior officer and Pahalu could hear that constable was informing his superior that he had Pahalu with him and that he could not gather any useful information regarding Umesh. The superior officer asked the constable to bring Pahalu to the police station. The constable then asked Pahalu to accompany him to the police station. Pahalu asked why he had to come to the station. The constable informed Pahalu that he needs to be questioned and asked him to follow his directions without any further questions. Pahalu obliged and went to the police station. Since then what has happened to Pahalu is not clearly known, other than the fact that his mother was informed that he is been questioned regarding Umesh. It is also alleged that Pahalu is being tortured at the police station to find out the details regarding his allegedly absconding brother Umesh.

The next day, Pahalu’s mother Chanda went to Cholapur Police Station and enquired about his son and asked the Station Officer Mr. Ravindrabhushan Maurya why her son is been detained. The officer asked Chanda to wait. By night she was asked to return the next day. This was repeated for the next two days. In the meanwhile Chanda was never allowed to see Pahalu. She was, at various occasions, between 21 May and 24 May informed that her son Pahalu was detained at other police stations in the district. She was asked to enquire at these police stations if she wished to see her son. Accordingly, Chanda went to several other police stations in the district between 22 May and 24 May. However each police station informed her that her son is not kept there, but must be in Cholapur Police Station.

On the 5th day, that is on May 25, 2007 Pahalu’s father filed an affidavit at the Cholapur Police Station affirming that the family does not know about their son Umesh since he has left the family ten years before and that nobody in the family had any contacts with them. Pahalu’s father also faxed letters to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi informing the illegal custody of his son Pahalu and requesting the officer to release him. The family also sent a registered letter demanding similar relief. None of these letters were considered by the officers. It is now alleged that Pahalu is kept at the Mirzapur Prison, being charged with non-bail able offenses. It is alleged that Pahalu is been charged with offenses to justify the detention and illegal arrest.

Neither Pahalu, nor his family is informed why Pahalu was taken into custody and on what charges. Pahalu’s family is not aware where exactly he is detained. It is alleged that the detention of Pahalu is merely to force his brother Umesh to surrender before the police. While detention of this nature is prohibited in law in India, it is mandatory for the police to inform the detainee about the charges for which he is taken into custody. The police are also required to inform the nearest relative of the detainee about the arrest and the details of the member of their family. It is also alleged that Pahalu is being tortured in custody to force him to divulge information regarding his allegedly absconding brother.

Chanda’s family is extremely poor and has no capacity to engage a lawyer to approach the court. The Musahars are considered as an untouchable community within the caste Hindu community which dominates Uttar Pradesh. It is alleged that members of the Musahar community and other tribal and backward communities are treated as ‘criminal natured’ communities in Uttar Pradesh, especially by the law enforcement agencies. This is a contemporary form of racial discrimination which is widely practiced in India. The PVCHR is now planning to file a habeas corpus writ at the Allahabad High Court asking the court’s intervention in this case to produce Pahalu in court.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
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