More than 1,000 people of Sathankulam town in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district staged a dharna Tuesday after two persons were allegedly killed in police custody here. In a chilling case of police torture, a father and son died in a span of 10 hours, in judicial custody in Thoothukudi, a coastal town in south Tamil Nadu, allegedly after being subjected to third-degree treatment by the police. The incident triggered widespread political and societal outrage.
The deceased have been identified as Jayaraj (59) and his son Fenix Emmanuel (31). Two sub-inspectors have been suspended. According to the protesters and other local residents, Jayaraj along with Fenix ran a mobile shop named APJ in the town. On Friday, he closed his shop around 8:15 pm. Personnel from the Sathankulam police station, who was on patrol duty, reportedly pulled him up for running the store beyond the permitted time, and an argument took place.
On Saturday evening, the police personnel visited the shop again and had an altercation with Jayaraj. When Fenix intervened, both father and son were taken to the police station and booked under several sections of the IPC, including Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 353 (use of force to deter public servant from duty).
On Sunday, after a medical check-up, the duo was lodged in the Kovilpatti sub-jail. That evening, local residents alleged, Fenix complained of chest pain and Jayaraj had a high fever. Both were taken to the Kovilpatti government hospital, where Fenix died on Monday evening and Jayaraj succumbed to respiratory illness Tuesday morning.
Jayaraj’s wife Selvarani has lodged a complaint, alleging that police brutality led to the death of her husband and son. In her complaint letter to the district criminal court and Assistant Commissioner, she said the police brutally attacked her husband and son, used curse words, and threatened to kill them. She urged them to book the police officers responsible under section 302 of the IPC and suspend them from duty.Condemning the killing, all trader union bodies, various political outfits, activists, and the local public staged protests in various parts of the town. Kanniyakumari MP Vasanthakumar, former AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa, and other party functionaries participated in the protest. Their demands include the arrest and suspension of the police officers responsible for the incident, compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the family members of the deceased, a doctor from the protesters’ side to be allowed during the autopsy, and a government job to one member of the deceased’s family.
The series of violations in the case mock our procedures. Whenever there is a death in police custody, the concerned police officers are duty-bound to bring it to the notice of senior officers expeditiously.
In view of the perception that custodial deaths take place because of reckless incidents of arrest, amendments have been effected to the Criminal Procedure Code, stating arrests be made only in offences which attract punishment of more than seven years or in those offences where there is apprehension that the accused may commit similar offences or assist other accused to escape. As soon as the accused is arrested, he should be medically examined by competent government medical officers and necessary medical assistance should be provided as per the requirement. Information about the arrest should be communicated to his advocate and relatives/family members. Details of his arrest need to be conveyed to the police control room and displayed on the unit website. In addition, following directives from the Supreme Court, a State Police Complaints Authority has been formulated under the chairmanship of a retired High Court judge to look into grievances in this regard. All complaints about custodial death are also looked into minutely by NHRC and SHRC from time to time.
Even though all these directives are being underlined and well-published from time to time, it is a matter of concern why these are not implemented at the ground level. Once one gets a job in the police department and wears the police uniform, there is a misconception that this is a blanket approval to arrest anyone and obtain a confession by indulging in physical harassment. Several times, suspecting someone for petty theft or because of personal rivalry, complaints are registered by people of means, and this is followed by arrest and physical torture.
If the police officer does not do so, he is declared a good-for-nothing. Many a time, a police officer who indulges in beating a citizen in public and violates all norms is appreciated by people and he is considered a hero. Kamte was working as officer-in-charge of detecting crimes in Sangli police station for the last three years, and had reportedly detected several offences using high handed tactics and was applauded by the public from time to time. This must-have led him to believe he is beyond any law.
NHRC, as well as SHRC, have clarified more than once that unless a person has gone to a police station to lodge a complaint, whether he is in the lock-up or outside, he would be treated as under arrest and it is the responsibility of the police officer in charge of the police station to take care of his health. The study of custodial deaths reveals that more than 65 per cent are attributed to suicide, about 25 per cent to mental shock and less than five per cent to police harassment. These are official statistics and they tell us that we need a whole range of steps – from safety measures to psychological inputs and an array of methods and systems to keep a check on these violations and create a culture of fair and proper investigations.
Acting with impunity
These incidents have brought into sharp focus the way Indian policemen torture and interrogate suspects in their custody leading to death in several cases. As a result, policemen all over the country have been severely criticised and condemned. Strictures passed against policemen from time to time by learned judges of various courts notwithstanding, the police continue to brazenly torture suspects in their custody.
The Central Bureau of Investigation too uses torture as a method of investigation. In September 2016, B.K. Bansal, Director General of Corporate Affairs, and his son Yogesh committed suicide. In their suicide note, the two men listed the names of officers who had tortured their family in connection with a case of disproportionate assets. Bansal’s wife and daughter too had committed suicide two months earlier. On the directions of the National Human Rights Commission, an inquiry was held by the CBI. Expectedly, the agency exonerated all the accused. Taking cognisance of the matter, the Central Vigilance Commission published a standard operating procedure laying down guidelines for interrogation of accused officials.
Custodial deaths have been on the increase in recent years. They increased by 9% from 92 in 2016 to 100 in 2017, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Since policemen responsible for custodial deaths rarely get punished, they feel emboldened to continue using torture as the tool to get to the truth. In 2015, for instance, the police registered cases against fellow police officers in only 33 of the 97 custodial deaths.
A historic order
The Supreme Court delivered a historic order in 2006 on police reforms. It stated, among other things, that every State should have a Police Complaints Authority where any citizen can lodge a complaint against policemen for any act of misdemeanour. However, only a few states such as Kerala, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra have implemented the order. Others have not taken the matter seriously.
Until exemplary punishment is meted out to policemen who are responsible for custodial deaths after proper judicial inquiry, not much can be expected to ameliorate the situation. Proper interrogation techniques coupled with the use of scientific methods to extract the truth from suspects can go a long way in reducing custodial deaths.
Therfore, It should be mandatory for every officer in charge of the unit to visit immediately all incidents of escape of prisoners or deaths in custody. If the unit in charge does not reach the spot of the incident promptly, she or he should be held accountable. Otherwise, such serious incidents would continue to recur. The time is now ripe for the Indian government to consider ratifying the international treaty against torture and declare her commitment to human dignity.
Eduindex News 