Police attack on woman lawyer: AHRC's urgent appeal

The Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, has circulated an urgent appeal for intervention in the case of the torture of a woman lawyer by the police at Thrissur, Kerala state.

The following is the text of the statement:

ISSUES: Custodial torture; impunity; police reforms; professional freedom of judges and lawyers
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of brutal attack by the local police of a lawyer, practising at Thrissur courts. It is reported that the incident happened when the victim in the case, Ms. R. K. Asha, went to help her client and friend Ms. Neethu. The Sub-Inspector of Police, Mr. Lalkumar, stationed at Thrissur East Police Station not only assaulted the lawyer, but detained in custody her son, on fabricated charges and assaulted the lawyer's minor daughter at the police station. The children had accompanied their mother since the lawyer was travelling at night. The Thrissur Bar protested against the incident and has organised a public rally demanding immediate action against the police officer.

CASE NARRATAIVES:

According to the information received, Ms. Neethu, a client as well as friend of the lawyer Ms. Asha, contacted Asha at about 10:00 at night on 22 February. Asha was home having dinner with her children. Neethu informed Asha that she requires immediate legal assistance, since the local police was trying to arrest and detain Neethu and her friends.

Being already late into the night, but willing to help, Asha went to meet her friend Neethu. Neethu had informed Asha that the police is trying to take them into custody from a restaurant in town. Asha took along with her, her son as well as minor daughter for company. At the restaurant, while Asha was trying to gather information from Sub-Inspector of Police, Mr. Suraj, stationed at the Thrissur West Police Station.

At this moment, the Sub-Inspector of Police from Thrissur East Police Station, Mr. Lalkumar came to the scene accompanied with other police constables. Without provocation, Lalkumar started assaulting Asha's son and daughter. The officers also in the meanwhile assaulted Neethu and her friends and dragged them into a police vehicle. Before Asha could do anything, the police also took along with them, Asha's son.
Asha followed the police vehicle to the Thrissur East Police Station. At the police station Asha tried explaining to the police officer that her son had come along with her since it was late and has nothing to do with Neethu and her friends and for whatever purpose the police have arrested Neethu. Hearing this, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Lalkumar pushed Asha out of the police station room upon which Asha fell down on the ground. Then Lalkumar started kicking on Asha's leg, wherein Asha suffered serious injuries on her both legs. Then the police dragged Asha out of the police station building. Not satisfied, the officer then slapped Asha's minor daughter. After this the officer asked Neethu was ordered to sign a release letter and was allowed to leave. They took Asha to Aswini Hospital where Asha is receiving treatment. While the police officer was assaulting Asha and her daughter, they were also using filthy language against the lawyer, the other women as well as Asha's daughter.

There is a background to this incident. About two weeks before Asha had been to Thrissur East Police Station concerning another case. At that moment, despite knowing that Asha was representing her client, the police officer Lalkumar had misbehaved with Asha, against which Asha had filed a complaint against the officer at the office of the City Police Commissioner. Asha claims that the reason why the officer assaulted Asha on this occasion was to wreck vengeance against Asha filing complaint against the officer.

Asha is a lawyer practicing at the Thrissur Bar for the past 14 years. Asha is a civil rights activist, has regularly lectured at the Police Training College, and was a member of the Thrissur Police Advisory Board. Despite all this that this officer has dared to brutally assault a lawyer shows the vested and adverse interest that the officer entertains against Asha.

No one should be assaulted at a police station. A lawyer is the officer of the court, while a lawyer is engaged in legitimate acts that are covered under the professional engagement of a lawyer with his or her client. Assaulting and torturing a lawyer, while the lawyer is discharging his or her official duties, is equal to attacking the court. Therefore, the officer has not only committed an act of torture against a citizen, but has also attacked an important institution. It is also important at this juncture to be aware that torture is not limited to acts of physical attack upon suspects, but also involves acts of violence that could be treated as punishment.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case.
The AHRC is also writing a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ................,
INDIA: Torture of a lawyer in Thrissur must be investigated
Name of the victim: Ms. Asha R. K., Advocate, Thrissur Bar Association, Ayyanthole Post, Thrissur, Kerala state, India
 
Alleged Perpetrators: Mr. Lalkumar, Sub-Inspector of Police, Thrissur East Police Station, Thrissur, Kerala state, India
 
Date of incident: 22 February 2014
 
Place of incident: Thrissur East Police Station, Thrissur District, Kerala State, India

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you to express concern about the assault and injuring of a lawyer by the Sub-Inspector of Police at the Thrissur East Police Station. The incident reported to the AHRC is as follows:

The victim in this case is a lawyer with 14 years of standing at the Thrissur Bar. Ms. Neethu, a client as well as friend of the lawyer Ms. Asha, contacted Asha at about 10:00 at night on 22 February. Asha was home having dinner with her children. Neethu informed Asha that she requires immediate legal assistance, since the local police was trying to arrest and detain Neethu and her friends.

Being already late into the night, but willing to help, Asha went to meet her friend Neethu. Neethu had informed Asha that the police is trying to take them into custody from a restaurant in town. Asha took along with her, her son as well as minor daughter for company. At the restaurant, while Asha was trying to gather information from Sub-Inspector of Police, Mr. Suraj, stationed at the Thrissur West Police Station.
At this moment, the Sub-Inspector of Police from Thrissur East Police Station, Mr. Lalkumar came to the scene accompanied with other police constables. Without provocation, Lalkumar started assaulting Asha's son and daughter. The officers also in the meanwhile assaulted Neethu and her friends and dragged them into a police vehicle. Before Asha could do anything, the police also took along with them, Asha's son.

Asha followed the police vehicle to the Thrissur East Police Station. At the police station Asha tried explaining to the police officer that her son had come along with her since it was late and has nothing to do with Neethu and her friends and for whatever purpose the police have arrested Neethu. Hearing this, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Lalkumar pushed Asha out of the police station room upon which Asha fell down on the ground. Then Lalkumar started kicking on Asha's leg, wherein Asha suffered serious injuries on her both legs. Then the police dragged Asha out of the police station building. Not satisfied, the officer then slapped Asha's minor daughter. After this the officer asked Neethu was ordered to sign a release letter and was allowed to leave. They took Asha to Aswini Hospital where Asha is receiving treatment. While the police officer was assaulting Asha and her daughter, they were also using filthy language against the lawyer, the other women as well as Asha's daughter.

There is a background to this incident. About two weeks before Asha had been to Thrissur East Police Station concerning another case. At that moment, despite knowing that Asha was representing her client, the police officer Lalkumar had misbehaved with Asha, against which Asha had filed a complaint against the officer at the office of the City Police Commissioner. Asha claims that the reason why the officer assaulted Asha on this occasion was to wreck vengeance against Asha filing complaint against the officer.
Asha is a lawyer practicing at the Thrissur Bar for the past 14 years. Asha is a civil rights activist, has regularly lectured at the Police Training College, and was a member of the Thrissur Police Advisory Board. Despite all this that this officer has dared to brutally assault a lawyer shows the vested and adverse interest that the officer entertains against Asha.

No one should be assaulted at a police station. A lawyer is the officer of the court, while a lawyer is engaged in legitimate acts that are covered under the professional engagement of a lawyer with his or her client. Assaulting and torturing a lawyer, while the lawyer is discharging his or her official duties, is equal to attacking the court. Therefore, the officer has not only committed an act of torture against a citizen, but has also attacked an important institution. It is also important at this juncture to be aware that torture is not limited to acts of physical attack upon suspects, but also involves acts of violence that could be treated as punishment.

I therefore request you to:
1. Undertake an independent investigation in the case;
2. That a judicial magistrate records the statement of the victim and witnesses;
3. That the officer accused in the case is placed on immediate suspension from active service;
4. That the officer should be prosecuted.

Yours sincerely,
-----------------------------------------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Ramesh Chennithala
Minister for Home and Vigilance
Ground Floor, Main Block
Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
INDIA
Fax + 91 471 2327451

2. Mr. Balasubramanian (IPS)
Director General of Police, Kerala
Police Headquarters, Trivandrum – 695010, Kerala
INDIA
Fax + 91 471 2726560
E-mail: dgp@keralapolice.gov.in

3. Chairperson
Kerala Women's Commission
Near Lourdes Church, P.M.G
Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram - 4, Kerala
INDIA
E-mail: keralawomenscommission@yahoo.co.in

4. Honourable District & Sessions Judge
Civil Lanes, Thrissur
Ayyanthole Post, Thrissur, Kerala
INDIA

5. District Police Chief
Civil Lanes, Thrissur
Ayyanthole Post, Kerala
INDIA

Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

AHRC takes up case of police atrocity in Kerala

The Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong,has called upon human rights defenders everywhere to take up the cause of a Keralite who was assualuted
by a police official. The following is the text of the appeal issued by the AHRC in this regard:

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Nervazhy, a human rights organization working in Thrissur, Kerala regarding the case of assault by the local police upon an innocent person. It is reported that Mr. Kuttan while waiting for a three-wheeler to go home on 23 April 2008 was assaulted by a police officer who identified himself as attached to Cherpu Police Station in Thrissur district. After assault, Kuttan who lost consciousness was left on the public road unconscious and with injuries.

CASE DETAILS:
On 23 April 2008 at about 9pm Kuttan was waiting for a three-wheeler to go home. Kuttan was sitting on the ground beside a small wall constructed near the Padiyath Service Centre at the Cherpu - Chovoor public road. Kuttan was on his way back home after attending a local temple festival at Pootharakkal. Pootharakkal is about two kilometers away from where Kuttan was sitting. Before waiting for the three-wheeler Kuttan had food and drinks from a neighbouring bar.

While Kuttan was waiting for the three-wheeler, a person in police uniform approached him and asked him why he was sitting there. The officer identified as a police constable stationed at Cherpu Police Station. The officer further asked Kuttan where his house was and whether he was employed. For the questions, Kuttan answered that he was waiting for a three-wheeler to come and that his house was at Chovoor and further that he was working at the furniture workshop owned by Mr.
Sadanandan. The furniture workshop is near Chovoor.

Hearing this, without any provocation the officer shouted abuses at Kuttan and tried to lift Kuttan up holding him by his shirt. The officer pushed Kuttan on to the ground shouting at him that why he was working at Sadanandan's furniture workshop. Kuttan fell down on the ground, face down. The officer them assaulted Kuttan using his baton and also kicked him.

Kuttan started bleeding from the injuries that he sustained from the fall and from the assault. By the time Kuttan was on the public road and was crying out to the officer not to assault him. Soon Kuttan lost his consciousness. He regained consciousness after a while and he found that he was seated on the roadside and somebody had kept him in a sitting position with his back leaning a telephone post. This place was about 5-6 meters away from where Kuttan had fallen down.

When he regained consciousness Kuttan realised that he has suffered severe injuries from the assault and that he was bleeding from the injuries caused to him from the fall and from the assault. He also felt severe pain all over his body. Unable to go home due to pain, Kuttan spent the night in the varanda of a shop nearby. The next day morning Kuttan went to his employer and informed him what happened to him the previous night. Kuttan then went to the Cherpu Government Hospital along with his friend. The medical officer at Cherpu hospital referred Kuttan to the District Government Hospital for further treatment.

However, soon Kuttan started vomiting blood. He was later admitted at the Mulankunathukavu Medical College Hospital. At the hospital, the doctors have diagnosed that Kuttan has suffered several injuries on his body, including lacerated wounds above his right earlobe and other aberrations all over his body as if he was injured while being dragged around on a rough surface. The medical certificate also shows that Kuttan has suffered blunt trauma injuries as if those inflicted by a blunt edged weapon.

It is reported that the Cherpu police had a previous incident where Sadanandan, Kuttan's employer, had complained about the police officers stationed at the Cherpu Police Station, in which the officers had to publically apologise to Sadanandan. It is suspected that the constable who assaulted Kuttan was one among the police officers who was involved in this earlier dispute with Kuttan's employer. Even though Kuttan does not know the name of the officer who assaulted him, he is able to identify the officer on sight.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
It is common practice in Kerala for the police officers to quiz around people during evening hours. Incidents of theft, which is in record high numbers in Kerala, is posed as an excuse for police officers to conduct random check among the public. However, this opportunity is often misused by police officers. Cases where police officers assault persons to instill fear among the local public as part of this questioning are also reported from Kerala in high numbers. In fact law enforcement in Kerala and rest of India has become the synonym of use of unwarranted force by law enforcement agencies.

The local police however deny these incidents and often pose resistance by a suspects as an excuse for use of force. These days more and more cases implicating police officers in Kerala and their connection with criminal elements in the state involved in fraud, murder, rape, women trafficking and bootlegging are being exposed in the local media.

This week, the Kerala State Police Association is holding its annual conference at Thrissur. The police have used their influence to erect sponsorship posters throughout the town from private enterprises in support of the conference. Nervazhy had also posted a poster of its own in front of the conference venue in a public place, demanding the police association to discuss issues concerning use of force and torture as one of the subjects of the conference. The poster was however removed by unknown persons within a day.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities below to ensure that the incident is investigated and the officer who assaulted Kuttan be punished. The AHRC has also written to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture calling for an intervention in this case.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

INDIA: Please take actions against the police officer who assaulted an innocent villager in Thrissur

Name of victim: Mr. Kuttan, aged 44 years, son of Chathan, Tharayil house, Sawmill Raod, Chovoor post, Thrissur district, Kerala state

Name of alleged perpetrators: Police officer (identifiable by the victim) stationed at Cherpu Police Station, Thrissur district, Kerala state

Date of incident: 23 April, 2008

Place of incident: Cherpu - Chovoor road, near Padiyath Service Centre, Thrissur district, Kerala state

I am writing to express my concern regarding the case of Mr. Kuttan, who was assaulted for no apparent reason by a police officer stationed at Cherpu Police Station, in Thrissur district of Kerala state. I am informed that the officer assaulted Kuttan while Kuttan was waiting to get home in a three-wheeler on 23 April 2008 at about 9pm.

I am informed that the police officer who approached Kuttan while he was waiting for the three-wheeler started asking questions to Kuttan about his place of work and residential address and later started assaulting Kuttan for no reason at all. I am informed that the same officer along with his colleagues had to publically apologise to Kuttan's employer, Mr. Sadanandan, a furniture workshop owner in a complaint lodged by Sadanandan against the police officers stationed at Cherpu Police Station.
I am informed that Kuttan suffered serious injuries in the assault and was treated at the Thrissur Medical College. I am also informed that the injuries suffered by Kuttan has been recorded in the medical certificate issued to him at the Cherpu Government Hospital where he was treated first and later at the Thrissur District Government Hospital and at the Mullankunathukavu Medical College Hospital.

I therefore urge you to take all possible measures to ensure that the case is investigated thoroughly and the erring officer punished in accordance with law. In this context it is important that the investigating agency to first record Kuttan's statement. I also urge you to ensure that Kuttan is not threatened by the police officer during the course of enquiry and that all necessary action is taken so that Kuttan remains safe during the course of investigation of the case.

Yours sincerely,
----------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Director General of Police
Government of Kerala
Police Head Quarters
Thiruvanandapuram
Kerala
INDIA
Fax: +91 471 2729434
E-mail: dgn@scrb.org

2. Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan
Chief Minister
Government of Kerala
North Block, Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
INDIA
Fax: +91 471 2333489
E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in

3. Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan
Minister of Home Affairs
Government of Kerala
Room No.216, Third Floor
North Sandwich Block
Govt. Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram 1
Kerala
INDIA
E-mail: minister-home@kerala.gov.in

4. Mr. Oomen Chandy
Opposition Leader
Puthupally House, Jagathy,
Thiruvannathapuram,
Kerala
INDIA
Fax: +91 471 2315625

Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

AHRC takes up case of police torture of a man in Kerala

The following is the text of a communication sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, to friends and associates everywhere
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Nervazhy, a local human rights organisation working in Kerala concerning the case of Binish, a deaf person who was taken into custody by Pattanakadu police on 28 February 2008. It is reported that the police officers who took Binish into custody, tortured him in an attempt to force him to speak. It is also reported that the police burned Binish's palms until they realised that Binish is deaf and let him go.



CASE DETAILS:
Mr. Binish is aged 19, and is from a poor family from Alappuzha district in Kerala state. Binish is from the Pulaya (Scheduled Caste) community, a Dalit (untouchable) community in India. Binish is deaf since birth. Binish works as an apprentice in a local workshop near his house.
On 28 February 2008, at about 3pm Binish left home to the nearby Kanichukulangara temple. Binish went to the temple on his bicycle. When the parents found that Binish had not returned home even after nightfall, they became concerned about Binish. They started looking for Binish in the nearby places, but could not find him. At about 2:30am on the next day the parents lodged a complaint at the nearby Arthungal Police Station alleging that Binish was missing.
On the same day, at about 3pm Binish returned home in a three-wheeler along with his bicycle. According to Binish's parents, Binish appeared to be in a bad state of health suffering from external and internal injuries. When the parents enquired with Binish what had happened to him, Binish explained that while he was returning home he was taken into custody by police officers from Pattanakadu Police Station. Binish used sign language to communicate.


According to the statement given by Binish, while he was returning home from the temple he lost his direction. While he was searching around for the road to his house, he was stopped by police officers from Pattanakadu Police Station who came in a police vehicle. The police officers who stepped out from the vehicle started asking Binish questions. But Binish, as he was deaf, neither could understand what the officers were asking, nor could explain to them his situation.
When the officers found that Binish was not answering the questions one officer slapped him on his face. Then the police officers started forcing Binish to enter the police vehicle. Binish resisted and even tried to escape, but could not succeed. The officers tied Binish's hands and legs with a rope and threw him into the police vehicle. Soon the vehicle reached Pattanakadu Police Station.
At the police station, the officers removed the rope with which Binish was tied up. The officers started questioning Binish, but Binish could not understand what was being asked and could not communicate to the officers. He tried explaining to the officers through sign language that he is deaf. The officers did not believe him. Then the officers burned his toes with cigarette flames. Later they caned Binish trying to force him to speak. Not satisfied with this, the officers brought camphor pellets and forced Binish to hold it in his palms. Then the officers set the pellets on fire, burning Binish's palms. While Binish was forced to hold the burning camphor pellets in his palms, the officers assaulted him. Finally Binish collapsed not being able to bear anymore pain.
Later Binish was taken to a hospital, of which Binish cannot remember the name, where, he was given some medicine. Later the officers realising that Binish cannot speak or hear concluded that he is innocent and decided to set him free. The officers called for a three-wheeler, asked Binish to get in and put his cycle also into the passenger compartment and ordered the three-wheeler driver to drop Binish off at his house.


On 29 February, Binish was taken to Cherthala Thaluk Hospital at about 6pm by his parents where he was admitted for treatment to his injuries. In the meanwhile Binish's story was reported in local media. There was an immediate public outcry against the police officers involved in the incident. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has also taken the case into notice and issued orders for the state police to investigate the case. Meanwhile the local police has issued a statement that Binish was not tortured, but was suffering from chronic asthma. However this statement has been refuted by everyone involved in this case who is concerned about the police atrocities in the state.


BACKGROUD INFORMATION:
The police in Kerala state are notorious for its use of custodial torture. Often the police use torture as a means for extracting statements from suspects. Torture is inflicted upon persons arrested and detained in police custody in connection with the crime and also against innocent persons whom the police question in connection with their other regular duties.


Use of unwarranted force by local police is so common that it is now a practice by the local police to slap persons whom they talk to. It is a common scene in Kerala for police officers to slap a person as they approach a stranger before even uttering a word. This practice has gained approval of senior police officers as a 'shortcut' to psychologically overpower the person to whom the officer is speaking to. It is also a common practice for police officers across the state to take into custody persons whom they suspect of being found at places 'where they cannot explain the reason for their presence'. As strange and loosely worded this expression is, so is the reason for the local police to prohibit persons from spending time outside their house, particularly during evening hours, at open play grounds and village grounds in rural areas of the state.


The common practice is for the local police to roam around in police vehicles in the villages and order persons, especially the youth, to go home, if they are found hanging around in public places. To prevent the people from returning, the police would approach anyone who is found in public places, ask the person why he is hanging around in the locality while slapping him hard on his face and pushing the person off holding him by his neck and ordering him to return home. This is widely practiced in Kerala that parents now advice their children not to go out of the house in the evening. Such practices are mostly focused against young males in the guise of preventing and controlling theft in rural villages.


No law in India or in the state allows police to impose such restrictions. It is true that theft is common in India and Kerala is not an exception. In the recent years incidents of theft have in fact increased. Though this is a reflection of the state of policing in any given area, measures like illegal restrictions upon individual freedom in the name of law and order has not reduced theft, but has in fact further isolated the people from their police. Most probably Binish was also taken into custody by the police on the suspicion that he was scouting around for a place to break in.
According to Section 331 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, anyone who causes grievous hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer, or any person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to the detection of an offense or misconduct can be punished for imprisonment for a period not more than 10 years and also fine. A corresponding provision of the Code relevant to this Section is Section 348 of the Code which deals with wrongful confinement. According to this Section, anyone who wrongfully confines any person for the purpose of extorting from the person confined or any person interested in the person confined any confession or any information must be punished for a period that may extend to three years and also be liable for fine. These two provisions of the Code are incorporated in the penal law in India to prevent custodial torture; though the definition of torture as it is conceived in India is far below the universal standards.



The fact that Binish was brutally tortured shows both the inexperience and the lack of professionalism of the state police and also the widespread acceptance within the force for the use of torture as a means for investigation and to maintain law and order. Further, the use of such force is also a reflection upon the impunity the local police enjoy in the name of law enforcement.


The United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime -- vide Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/13, calls for the member states to address crime prevention through a humane and cost-effective method; involving government leadership; considering the socio-economic developments; and with the cooperation and partnership of other civil society players. This obviously involves developing a trust of the local populace as one of the essential elements for effective crime control. However the state police in Kerala have not considered a public trust building exercise as an essential ingredient for crime prevention. Instead the Kerala State Police, like any other police force in India continue to use centuries old practices of imparting fear upon the society as a means to prevent crime, of which Binish's case is a tragic example.
Soon after the police officers involved in Binish's case was placed on suspension pending investigation in this case, it is reported that the officers have now started pressurising Binish's family to withdraw the complaint they have filed at the police station. It is also reported that some senior police officers are also helping the accused officers in this process. In the absence of an independent mechanism in India to investigate complaints against the police the possibilities are that in this case the police will try to cover-up the guilt of the accused police officers, by fabricating evidence or avoiding crucial evidence concerning the incident during the investigation in this case.


The AHRC in the past had experienced such corrupt practices followed by the local police, not only from Kerala, but from other states in India. In the past, when the AHRC wrote to the Kerala State Government calling for immediate attention concerning cases of police torture, the government has only cared to acknowledge the receipt of such complaints and has thus far failed to inform the AHRC or for that matter even the victims in those cases what had happened to the complaints filed by the AHRC with the government. Assuming from the lack of any further action from the state government, the AHRC has to conclude that the state government has taken no action against any police officers, or even cared to investigate the cases brought to the government's notice.


The AHRC is also informed that during the past few months the state government has asked the local police to monitor human rights groups who are communicating cases of human rights abuses, particularly concerning custodial violence to international organisations like the UN, with an intention to intimidate these organisations and groups and to force them to keep silent.
The Government of Kerala has recently launched a state-wide programme to promote and rebuild police-citizen relationship in the state. The programme titled 'Janakiya Police' (people's police) was launched on 26 March 2008. However, to gain any respect and confidence of the people, the state government must first control the abuse of authority by the police and fasten accountability in the police force. Without attempting to this no other efforts will generate public confidence upon the local police, not only in Kerala, but in the entire country.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities named below expressing your concern in this case. The facts of the case have to be investigated and the findings made public. If the investigation reveals that the police officers have in fact committed the offense, the police officers must be punished. The AHRC has also written to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this appeal, please click here:


SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear __________,
Subject: Please punish the police officers in Alappuzha district who tortured Binish


Details of victim: Mr. Binish, aged 19 years, son of Mr. Gopalakrishnan, Padanilathu Chira house, Mayithara post, Cherthala South, Alappuzha district, Kerala state



Alleged perpetrators: Police officers stationed at Pattanakadu Police Station, Alappuzha district, Kerala (the officers could be identified by Binish)Date and place of the incident: 28 & 29 February 2008 at Pattanakadu Police Station


I am writing to express my concern regarding the case of 19-year-old Binish who was allegedly tortured by the police officers stationed at Pattanakadu Police Station on 28th and 29th February 2008.


I am informed that Binish, a deaf person by birth was taken into custody by the police patrol party on 28th February while he was returning home after attending a local temple festival. I am also informed that the officers further tortured Binish to an extent that they caned him, assaulted and inflicted burn injuries upon him in an attempt to make Binish speak. I am also informed that the next day when the police officers came to know that they were mistaken, they took Binish to a hospital and later send him home in a three-wheeler.


I am concerned about the use of force by the police upon an innocent person merely because of suspicion and the manner in which the state government has approached this case. I am informed that even though the police officers responsible for the incident have been placed on suspension, the family of the victim is under pressure from the police officers to withdraw the complaint. I am aware that the victim is not provided any protection in this case, while at the same time some of the senior police officers have come out openly supporting their colleagues, even alleging that the entire case is false.


I am also informed that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has written to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture calling for an intervention in this case. I am also informed that the AHRC has been informed that the state government has instructed the local police to keep a watch upon the local human rights organisations who are also reporting cases of human rights abuses to international organisations like the UN in an attempt to intimidate these organisations and groups and to force them to keep silent.I therefore urge you to immediately order an impartial investigation in this case. In case an investigation is already underway, to ensure that such investigation is carried out independently and that the findings of the investigation are made public. I also urge you to ensure that the victim in this case and his family members are not threatened by the police or any other persons associated with the police officers accused in this case.


I further request you to ensure that the victim receives an interim compensation pending the investigation and that further to the investigation, if the officers are found guilty of the offense alleged against them, they are charged under Sections 331 and 348 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and brought to trial for the offense they have committed.
I firmly believe that you will take appropriate and speedy action in this regard.
Yours sincerely,


PLEASE SEND THE LETTER TO:
1. Director General of Police,

Government of KeralaPolice Head Quarters,

Thiruvanandapuram, Kerala state

INDIA

Fax: +91 471 2729434

E-mail: dgn@scrb.org


2. Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan

Chief Minister

Government of Kerala

North Block, Secretariat

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

INDIA

Fax: +91 471 2333489

E-mail: chiefminister@kerala.gov.in


3. Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

Minister of Home Affairs

Government of Kerala

Room No.216,

Third Floor North Sandwich Block

Govt. Secretariat

Thiruvananthapuram 1, Kerala

INDIA

E-mail: minister-home@kerala.gov.in


4. Mr. Oomen Chandy

Opposition Leader

Puthupally House,

Jagathy,

Thiruvannathapuram,Kerala

INDIA

Fax: +91 11 471 2315625


5. Mr. A. K. Anthony

Minister of Defense (Elected representative to the Upper House of the Indian Parliament from the State)

104, South Block,

New Delhi, INDIA

Fax: + 91 11 23015403

E-mail: ak.antony@sansad.nic.in


6. District Collector

Civil Station

Alappuzha District,

Kerala state

INDIA

Fax: 91-477-2251720

E-mail: dcalp@kerala.nic.in
Thank you.


Urgent Appeals Programme, Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)