Jharkhand
II. Human rights violations by the security forces
a. Violations of the right to life
b. Arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and torture
III. Violations of International Humanitarian Law by the AOGs
a. Violations of the right to life
b. Destruction of public properties
IV. Judiciary and administration of justice
V. Violations of the rights of indigenous peoples
a. Land alienation and displacement
b. Repression under the forest laws
VII. Violations of the rights of the child
VIII. Violations of the prisoners’ rights
I. Overview
Ruled by the Indian National Congress
led alliance, Jharkhand continued to face increased Naxalite violence. The
Naxalites, also known as the Maoists, were reportedly active in 16 out of the
22 districts. According to the estimates of Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR),
44 persons including 28 civilians, 7 security forces and 9 alleged Naxalites
were killed in the Naxalite conflict in the State from January to September
2007.
Both the Naxalites and the security
forces were responsible for serious human rights violations including
extrajudicial killings and torture. The
Maoists targeted political activists. On 4 March 2007, Mr Sunil Mahato, General
Secretary of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha
was killed by the Maoists at Bakuria village in East Singhbhum district.
The NHRC revealed in July 2007 that
there were as many as 84,000 cases of human rights violations under
consideration of the NHRC out of which 3,000 were from Jharkhand. However,
Jharkhand government failed to establish a State Human Rights Commission.
The Adivasis continued to face serious
human rights abuses. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of
332 cases of crimes against Scheduled Tribes were reported in Jharkhand during
2006.
Tribals have been arrested under false
charges when they tried to access minor forest produce in Jharkhand. About
12,000 cases have been filed by the state’s Forest Department against tribals
as of 12 August 2007 for claiming land rights by tribals guaranteed under the
Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. In a positive development,
in August 2007, the government of Jharkhand ordered the release of all tribals
who had been lodged in various jails in the state in connection with cases
registered by the Forest Department and to pay compensation to all the
villagers who had lost their paddy fields and vegetable farms due to forcible
plantation undertaken by the state’s Forest Department.
II.
Human rights violations by the security forces
a. Violations of the right to life
According to
information obtained by the Asian Centre for Human Rights under the Right to
Information Act of 2005, the NHRC received three cases of police custody death
in Jharkhand during the period of 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007. It also
reported two cases of ‘encounter deaths’ during the same period. The National
Crime Records Bureau did not report death in police custody in 2006.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights
documented other cases of extrajudicial killing including alleged fake
encounters by the security forces in Jharkhand during 2007.
On the night of 1 February 2007, Lalku
Mahto was shot dead by a Central Reserve Police Force officer identified as
Ratan Singh. The victim was shot when he answered the door at Kole village
under Keredari block during an anti-Naxalites search operation.
In June 2007, Dalit student identified
as Dadan Kumar Ram was allegedly killed in a fake encounter by the Jharkhand Police
at Ara in Hazaribag district.
b. Arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and
torture
According to the
information received by the Asian Centre for Human Rights under the RTI Act,
the NHRC received two cases of illegal arrest, two cases of unlawful detention,
one case of disappearance and 128 cases of other police excesses in Jharkhand
during the period of 1 April to 31 March 2007. The police failed to take action
in 144 cases.
The police often tortured the accused
persons during interrogation. On 19 December 2007, Ganesh Barnawal, a Public
Call Office operator, was picked up from Kunda on the charges of killing
journalist Promod Kumar Munna. He was tortured by the police to extract a
confession statement from him during interrogation. According to the victim,
two policemen tied two live wires around his neck and subjected him to electric
shocks until he lost consciousness. The police reportedly brought him home
unconscious on the night of the following day. The victim was admitted to
Deoghar sadar hospital in serious condition on the morning of 21 December 2007.
III.
Violations of International Humanitarian Law by the AOGs
The Maoists were responsible for gross
violations of international humanitarian law. According to a report prepared by
the Jharkhand Police, 70 per cent of the people killed by Maoists belong to
tribal and Dalit communities.
a. Violations of the right to life
According to the estimates of Asian
Centre for Human Rights, 28 civilians were killed by the Maoists during January
to September 2007. Political leaders and police informers were specifically
targeted.
Political leaders killed in 2007 included
Mr Sunil Mahato, General Secretary of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Member of
Parliament in the Lok Sabha killed at Bakuria village in East Singhbhum
district on 4 March 2007; Mr Bishamber Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
killed on 7 June 2007 in Simdega district; and Nand Kishore Singh, leader of
Rashtriya Janata Dal, at Mokama village in Chatra district on the night of 22
November 2007.
On
6 September 2007, the Maoists shot dead two persons identified as Nimai Murmu
Dalpati and Badal Pramanik during a raid at Digha village under Ghatshila
police station in East Singhbhum district. They were killed for taking part in
the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha by-elections held on 29 August 2007. The Maoists also
chopped off the ear of a villager identified as Hansda during the raid. The
Maoists had boycotted the by-elections.
The Maoists
continued to kill alleged police informers. Some of those who were killed in
2007 included Ashok Saw at
Dhawadih village under Lesliganj block in Palamu district on 18 February 2007; four villagers at
Boda village in Latehar district on 28 October 2007 and Chhkauri Ganjhu was
beaten to death by the Maoists after being accused of working as an informer of
Jharkhand Prastuti Committee at Bendi village in Hazaribagh district on 25
November 2007.
The Naxalites continued to organise Jana
Adalats, Peoples Court, to impose Maoist ‘justice’. On the night of 28 March 2007, two villagers identified as
Teklal Mahto and Bhola Mahto were reportedly beaten to death by the Maoists
following their trial in a Jana
Adalat held at Sohrai forest in Giridih district.
The deceased were among nine villagers whom the Maoists abducted from Badgawah
and charged them with collecting levies while posing as Maoists. The Jana Adalat found
four villagers guilty and released the others. The status of the two other
victims was not known.
On 8 August 2007, Kamruddin of Chatra
district was killed by the Maoists after trying him in a Maoist ‘court’ in
front of the villagers. The court pronounced that the punishment should be slitting
the victim’s throat and cutting off his limps. But when the victim pleaded for
mercy, the Maoists revised the sentence and ordered that he be let off with a
beating. His relatives rushed him to Hazaribagh, which is 75 km away, but he
was declared dead on arrival at the Sadar hospital.
On 24 September 2007, Maoists killed two activists of Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC) identified as Moinuddin Khan and Ram Kishun Bhuiyan at Lawalong village under Simeria police station in Chatra district. The deceased were abducted on 23 September 2007 and sentenced to death by a Jana Adalat on the charges of working against the Naxalites.
b. Destruction of public properties
The Naxalites continued to destroy of
public property.
On the night of 17 July 2007, the Maoists blew up the double-storeyed office of the
Block Development Officer of Gomia in Bokaro district.
On the night of 31 July 2007, the
Maoists detonated bombs in Bendi and Demu railway stations in Latehar district
during their 24-hour Jharkhand bandh that began on 31 July 2007.
On 23 September 2007, Maoists blew up
a railway station in Palamu district and railway tracks in two other districts.
On 7 October 2007, the Maoists set fire
to the tower of Airtel, a private telecom company, in Dhotawa area of
Katkamsandi in Hazaribagh district.
On 25 October 2007, the Maoists blew
up a school building which was used as rest house for the security personnel
during nights at Sobaranpur in Giridih district.
IV.
Judiciary and administration of justice
The judiciary continued to limited by
judicial delay in Jharkhand. Yet, there were 11 vacancies out of the sanctioned
strength of 20 judges in the Jharkhand High Court as on 1 January 2008. There
were 66 vacancies out of the sanctioned strength of 503 vacancies in the
District and Subordinate Courts as on 30 September 2007. Besides, there were a
total of 49,276 cases pending with the Jharkhand High Court and a total of 2,63,901
cases were pending with the District and Subordinate Courts as of 30 September
2007.
Due to judicial delay, the Jharkhand
High Court urged the State government to create 80 additional posts of judicial
magistrates to cope with arrears in April 2007.
There has been lack of tribal
representation in the judiciary of Jharkhand. Though the tribals constitute
about one third (nearly 80 lakh) of the total population of the state, as of 18
May 2007, there was not a single tribal representative as a high court judge or
district judge. There were about 300 lawyers from the Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribes, minorities and women out of the 1,836 practitioners
registered with the Advocates Association of Jharkhand High Court. The state
judicial service officers’ strength was about 430. Significantly, the law
officers, appointed by the state government, to argue its cases in various
courts, including the high court, did not have a tribal member either.
V.
Violations of the rights of indigenous peoples
The National Crime Records Bureau of
the government of India reported a total of 332 cases of crimes against the Scheduled
Tribes in Jharkhand during 2006. These included 13 cases of murder, 21 cases of
rape, 13 cases of kidnapping and abduction, 91 cases under the SC/ST
(Prevention of Atrocity) Act of 1989, among others.
The conditions of the tribals were
deplorable due to government’s apathy in Jharkhand. The Sabar tribes, one of
the oldest in the Chottanagpur Plateau, were on the verge of extinction due to
government’s apathy. In Darisai village, once dominated by over 200 Sabar
families, was left with a mere 11 families consisting of only 47 people as on
February 2007.
a. Land alienation and displacement
In Jharkhand, cases of alienation of
tribal land have risen despite two laws - Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal
Parangan Tenancy Act to prevent sale of tribal land to non-tribals in the
state. A total of 2,608 cases have been filed by tribals with the Special Area
Regulation Court in 2003-2004, which increased to 2,657 cases in 2004-2005 and
further to 3,230 cases in 2005-2006. As of January 2007, 3,789 cases have been
filed with the Special Area Regulation Court in 2007.
Lack of lawyers to take up
land-related cases of the tribals further delayed adjudication. Around 5,500
land-related cases of tribals were pending in various district courts in
Jharkhand as of March 2007. The government of Jharkhand had an annual budget of
Rs 50 lakh to provide legal assistance to poor tribals to pursue their land-related
cases. However, less than 10 per cent of the total allocated budget was spent over
the last six years. Lawyers were unwilling to fight cases on behalf of tribals
seeking government assistance. The offer of Rs 5,000 per case was cited as one of
the main reasons for pendency of land-related cases in courts.
In February 2007, the Supreme Court
allowed a tribal petitioner to file a fresh petition before the Jharkhand High
Court for recovery of his land from a mining company. In its order, the Supreme
Court held that the Jharkhand High Court was wrong to dismiss the petition of
Surendra Dehri, a tribal who alleged that over 10,000 acres of “notified tribal
land” had been usurped by mining contractors in connivance with the government
officials. The High Court had dismissed his petition saying that it involved
only “private interest”. But a bench of Supreme Court comprising Justices B.N.
Agarwal and P.P. Naolekar stated that a clear violation of constitutional
guarantees given to the tribals could not be held to be related to “private
interest”.
The tribals of Jharkhand have also been
protesting against the implementation of Koel Karo hydroelectric project by
National Hydroelectric Corporation over the Koel and Karo rivers. The project,
if implemented, would submerge as many as 256 villages involving 50,000 acres
of forest area, 40,000 acres of agricultural land and 300 forest groves
(considered sacred by the tribals), 175 churches and 120 Hindu temples.
b. Repression under the forest laws
The tribals have been intimidation and
abuse including arrest for accessing minor forest produce. About 12,000 cases
have been filed by the state’s Forest Department against the tribals as of 12
August 2007. Most of these cases related to the claims of land rights by the
tribals guaranteed under the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act.
On 12 August 2007, the government of
Jharkhand ordered the release of all tribals who had been lodged in various
jails in the state in connection with cases registered by the Forest Department
and to pay compensation to all the villagers who had lost their paddy fields
and vegetable farms due to forcible plantation undertaken by the state’s Forest
Department.
On 17 June 2007, 35-year-old Jeevan
Munda was allegedly beaten to death by forest officials on the charge of
cutting a tree to make a bed in the Hazaribagh National Park in Jharkhand. Mr
Munda’s body was found from a field with injury marks all over his body.
VI.
Violence against women
Violence against women including rape
and dowry deaths continued to be reported. According to the National Crime
Records Bureau, a total of 2,979 cases of crimes against women were reported in
Jharkhand during 2006. These included 799 cases of rape, 410 cases of
kidnapping and abduction, 281 cases of dowry death, 668 cases of cruelty by
husband and relatives, 414 cases of molestation, 11 cases under Immoral
Trafficking (Prevention) Act of 1956, among others.
The security forces were responsible
for violence against women and children. Tribal women were especially targeted
for sexual violence.
On 9 January 2007, the police arrested
three Paharia tribal women along with several tribal men on the charge of
killing of one Deba Paharia and detained them at Sundarpahari police station in
Godda district. While the men were detained in the police lock up, the women
were illegally detained in the residential quarter of the Officer-In-Charge
(OC) of Sundarpahari police station, Dipnarayan Mandal. They were allegedly
tortured and raped by Mr Mandal and the Assistant Sub Inspector Mahadev Oraon.
On 3 May 2007, Mohammed Alam,
Assistant Sub-Inspector of Doranda police station was arrested on charges of
repeatedly raping a 16-year-old since the first week of March 2007.
On 27 June 2007, a 15-year-old minor
tribal girl, daughter of Mihilal, resident of Jarwatola village was allegedly
gang raped by three police personnel of Nawadih Police Station including
Officer-In-Charge Pramod Kumar during socalled anti-Naxal operation at
Jarwatola village in Bokaro district of Jharkhand on 27 June 2007. Prior to
raping the minor tribal girl, the police personnel had stripped naked and beat
up her father Mihilal when denied having any knowledge about the Maoists.
VII.
Violations of the rights of the child
According to the National Crime
Records Bureau, a total of 112 cases of crimes against the children were
reported in Jharkhand during 2006. These included 9 cases of murder, 28 cases
of rape, 11 cases of kidnapping and abduction, among others.
The provisions of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children), 2000 continued to be violated. Children were
often tortured in homes/orphanages.
In August 2007, 10 tribal boys, aged
between 8 and 13, fled the Uma Anathalaya (orphanage) at Koriya village in
Dumka district due to inhuman torture. The boys were allegedly denied proper
food and medicine, beaten regularly and forced to do hard work like bringing
firewood and cleaning the entire campus. On 14 August 2007, Narayan Soren (8)
allegedly died after the orphanage staff did not provide him food and medicine
despite suffering from many diseases.
The security forces continued to occupy
schools for military purposes, thereby making the schools targets of the
Naxalites. As
of mid-April 2007, 25 schools were converted into police camps. Many schools
remained closed over the last five years. Estimates put the number of affected
students at 12,000. A few schools such as Chatrapur Middle
school of Daltanganj had been closed since 1990. Many schools have not been
totally closed but the security personnel live in the school buildings. Often,
children were forced to learn their lessons in the open sky, apart from living
under the fear of the attacks by Maoists.
VIII.
Violations of the prisoners’ rights
According to
information obtained by Asian Centre for Human Rights under the RTI Act, the
NHRC received 59 cases of death in judicial custody in Jharkhand during the
period of 1 April to 31 March 2007.
In November 2007, an under-trial prisoner identified as Amarnath Singh was allegedly tortured after he was taken on a two-day police remand during interrogation at the Mango police station in East Singhbhum district. The victim alleged that he was unable to stand straight following the police torture.
1.
See ACHR’s quarterly newsletter, Naxal Conflict Monitor series of 2007, available at http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/ncm.htm
2.
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/NCM-VOL-02-01.pdf
3.
State cry for human rights, The Telegraph, 25
July 2007
4.
2006 Annual Report of National Crime Records
Bureau
5.
Relief nod after forest eviction, The
Telegraph, 13 August 2007
6.
Relief
nod after forest eviction, The Telegraph, 13 August 2007
7.
Raid
shock to villager, The Telegraph, 3 February 2007
8.
‘Fake’ kill, probe plea, The Telegraph, 14
June 2007
9.
ACHR’s Complaint to the NHRC, Ref. No. JH/05/2007
10.
70% victims of Maoists are Dalit, tribals: Police, The Pioneer, 19 November 2007
11.
See ACHR’s quarterly newsletter, Naxal Conflict Monitor series of 2007, available at
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/ncm.htm
12.
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/NCM-VOL-02-01.pdf
13.
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/NCM-VOL-02-02.pdf
14.
RJD
leader killed by Naxalites in Jharkhand, The Times of
India, 23 November 2007
15.
Two
killed in Maoist attack in Jharkhand village, The Hindu, 7 September 2007
16.
Naxals kill seven in
Jharkhand, The Times of India, 8 September 2007
17.
Maoists kill man for spying, The Shillong Times, 19 February 2007
18.
Maoists
gun down 4 more in Jharkhand, The Deccan Herald, 29 October 2007
19.
Rebels hack driver to death, The Telegraph, 27
November 2007
20.
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/NCM-VOL-02-01.pdf
21.
Unplanned murder by
Maoists, The Telegraph, 10 August 2007
22.
Maoists kill two JPC activists, The Telegraph,
25 September 2007
23.
Red
show of strength, Telegraph, 19 July 2007
24.
Maoists
kill 1, blow up two railway stations, The Tribune, 2 August 2007
25.
Maoists
blow up railway station, tracks in E.India, Reuters,
23 September 2007
26.
Rebels
burn cellphone tower, The Telegraph, 8 October 2007
27.
Maoists
destroy school building in Jharkhand, The Times of India, 25 October 2007
28.
Supreme
Court of India, Court News- October – December 2007, available at: http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/CtNewsOct_Dec07.pdf
29.
HC
defends record, The Telegraph, 28 April 2007
30.
Cry
for tribal judge in courts, The Telegraph, 19 May 2007
31.
2006
Annual Report of National Crime Records Bureau
32.
Tribals in survival
battle, The Telegraph, 10 February 2007
33.
Tribal
land grab cases on rise in Jharkhand, The Pioneer, 14 February 2007
34.
Jharkhand
lawyers not interested in land cases of tribals, The
Hindustan Times, 5 September 2007
35.
SC snubs land order, The Telegraph, 12
February 2007
36.
Koel Karo: Tribal surge that stalled a dam, The Times of India,
5 June 2007
37.
Relief
nod after forest eviction, The Telegraph, 13 August 2007
38.
Relief
nod after forest eviction, The Telegraph, 13 August 2007
39.
Man cuts tree
to make cot, beaten to death, The Deccan Chronicle, 19 June 2007
40.
2006
Annual Report of National Crime Records Bureau
41.
Gangrape slur on Godda cops, The Telegraph, 29 January 2007
42.
Rape tar taints cop image, The Telegraph, 4
May 2007
43.
Gangrape inquiry
ordered, The Telegraph, 9 July 2007
44.
2006
Annual Report of National Crime Records Bureau
45.
Torture
trail forces teenagers to flee, The Telegraph, 31 August 2007
46.
Jharkhand schools become
police camps, The Hindustan Times, 18 April 2007
47.
http://www.achrweb.org/ncm/NCM-VOL-02-02.pdf
48.
Undertrial torture slur
on cops, The Telegraph, 29 November 2007