Punjab
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 the prisoners’ rights
I. Overview
Punjab is governed by the Akali Dal
and Bharatiya Janata Party Alliance. The Punjab Police continued to be
responsible for serious human rights violations. According to the 2006 Annual
Report of National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 4,796 complaints were
received against the police personnel in Punjab during 2006. Out of the 17
police personnel whose trial was completed, four were convicted and the rest
acquitted.
The Punjab State Human Rights
Commission reported up to the month of October 2006, the police notified deaths
of only 40 persons in custody but the PSHRC registered 47 custodial deaths in
Punjab.
Dalits remained vulnerable to
atrocities. The NCRB recorded a total of 184 cases of atrocities committed
against the Scheduled Castes in Punjab in 2006. These included three cases of
murder, 11 cases of rape and 99 cases registered under
the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act of 1989. While the rate of filing charge-sheet
for the crimes against Dalits was 85% in Punjab during 2006 the conviction rate
was only 13.3%.
A total of 2,242 crimes against women
were recorded in Punjab in 2006. These included 442 cases of rape, 418 cases of
kidnapping and abduction, 130 cases of dowry death, 801 cases of cruelty by
husband and relatives, 314 cases of molestation, 67 cases under Immoral
Trafficking (Prevention) Act of 1956 were recorded by the NCRB in 2006.
Torture was widespread in jails.
According to the information obtained by Asian Centre for Human Rights under
the Right to Information Act of 2005, the NHRC received 87 cases of death in
judicial custody in Punjab during the period of 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.
According to the National Crime
Records Bureau, a total of 329 crimes against children were recorded in 2006.
These included 22 cases of murder, 58 cases of rape, 169 cases of kidnapping
and abduction, 9 cases under Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1978, among
others. The condition of the Observation Home in Faridkot was dismal. The Home
lacked basic amenities.
The Judiciary was hampered by judicial
delay. A total of 25,5696 cases were pending with the Punjab and Haryana High
Court and a total of 58,2483 cases were pending with the District and
Subordinate Courts as on 30 September 2007. As on 1 January 2008, there were 26
vacancies out of the sanctioned strength of 68 judges in the Punjab and Haryana
High Court. There were 58 vacancies against the sanctioned strength of 328 in
the District and Subordinate Courts as on 30 September 2007.
II.
Human rights violations by the security forces
According to the 2006 Annual Report of
National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 4,796 complaints were received
against police personnel in Punjab during 2006. Departmental inquiries were
ordered into 2,893 cases, magisterial inquiries were ordered into 6 cases and a
judicial inquiry was ordered in 1 case. 52 police personnel were sent for trial
during the year. Of the 17 police personnel whose trial were completed, 4 four
were convicted and the rest acquitted.
a. Violations of the right to life
Security personnel were responsible
for gross human rights violations including custodial deaths and extrajudicial
executions.
According to the information obtained
by Asian Centre for Human Rights under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the
National Human Rights Commission received one case of death in police custody
and two encounter deaths in Punjab during the period of 1 April 2006 to 31
March 2007.
The number of custodial deaths was
under-reported by the police. On 2 May 2007, N. K. Arora, member of the Punjab
State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) stated that the custodial deaths were not
being properly reported by the police to the PSHRC. Up to October 2006, the
police notified deaths of only 40 persons in police custody. The PSHRC
registered 47 custodial deaths in Punjab. These are contrasted by statistics of
the National Crime Records Bureau (NRCB) of the Ministry of Home Affairs which recorded
one case of death in police custody in the state during 2006.
On 2 May 2007, N. K. Arora, member of
the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) also stated that use of third
degree methods of torture during interrogation by police was one of the main
reasons behind custodial deaths in Punjab. The police often denied the use of
torture and attributed other reasons to explain the deaths. The police
explanations lack credibility. For example, in 2004 there were 53 custodial
deaths in Punjab but the police maintained that 32 of them died “natural deaths”
despite the fact that most of the victims were aged 30-40; another 17 deaths
were attributed to negligence and four were termed as “suicide”.
On 19 August 2007, Mandip Kumar (26)
of Ward No. 4 of Dasuya town in Hoshiarpur district was allegedly tortured to
death in the custody of Dasuya police station in Hoshiarpur district. He was
arrested on the charge of theft on 17 August 2007. The police claimed that he
committed suicide by touching naked electric wire.
In June 2007, a Dalit labourer
identified as Tara Singh, his wife and four-year-daughter allegedly committed
suicide by jumping in front of a train at Beer Pind village in Jalandhar
district after alleged torture and humiliation of Tara Singh by the police in what
appears to be trumped up charges against him.
The court sentenced a number of police
personnel for custodial killings. On 7
December 2007, Additional Sessions Judge Kuldip Singh of Patiala
sentenced Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajinder Pal Singh Anand, Assistant
Sub Inspector Rajpal Singh and three constables Mohinder Singh, Vinod Kumar and Darshan Singh to life imprisonment in the Balbir
Singh custodial death of 1995.
On the night of 18 May 2007, four
personnel of Border Security Forces (BSF) went to the house of Shinghara Singh,
a farmer at Thakarpura village in Gurdaspur district. The police were
apparently drunk. They shot dead Shinghara Singh and his 15-years-old son,
Daljit Singh. The four accused BSF personnel have been identified as head
constable Karan Chakarborty and constables Mohammad Latif, Shatrughan and Shivu Dey. They were later arrested.
b. Arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and
torture
Unlawful detention and torture were widespread
in Punjab. According to the information obtained by the Asian Centre for Human
Rights under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 the NHRC received eight
cases of unlawful detention, 95 “other police excesses”. The Punjab Police
failed to take action in 88 cases during the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March
2007.
The use of
torture by the Punjab Police to extract confessions continued to be widespread.
On the 19 April 2007, a warrant
officer appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court rescued two brothers -
Mohan Kumar and Shalinder Kumar from illegal custody of Sardulgarh police
station in Mansa district. They were picked up by the local police on 17 April
2007 on the pretext that a complaint. No arrest entry was made in the custody
record of the police station. No charges were proffered. One of the brothers of
the victims filed a writ petition wit the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the
court appointed a warrant officer. The warrant officer raided the local police
station and removed the victims from the illegal custody of the police. Both
the victims were allegedly tortured by the police. A few days earlier, a
warrant officer appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court rescued three
persons from the illegal custody of the police at Bhagta Bhai Ka town in
Bathinda district. The three victims were kept in illegal custody for days
together and tortured.
On the night
of 23
March 2007, Mr Chhote Lal was picked up by local police in Zirakpur in Mohali
district in connection with a land dispute. He was allegedly subjected to
torture including electric shocks. On 24 March 2007, the police asked his
family members to take him when his condition became critical.
During the night
of 4 April 2007, a Home Guard identified as Chand Singh was allegedly tortured
at the Sadar police station in Nabha by the Station House Officer of the police
station, Bindu Bala, Assistant Sub Inspector Ajaib Singh, Kuldeep Singh and
Lakha Singh.
On 18 May 2007, Fumman Singh, resident
of Kotu Wala village in Ferozepore district of Punjab, was allegedly tortured
in police custody after he was arrested by the local police on charges of theft.
The police allegedly took off his clothes in front of other suspects in the
police lock up and humiliated him. Then, he was allegedly tied with ropes and
beaten up. Four police personnel allegedly stood on his legs while he was being
beaten up who forced him to confess to the crime which he said he did not
commit.
On 22 August 2007, Ravinder Kumar,
resident of Bahadurpur Mohalla, was tortured by the Station House Officer Parveen
Kumar Kanda of the Criminal Investigation Agency in Hoshiarpur. Ravinder Kumar was
booked for alleged theft in a garments showroom. On 24 August 2007, Senior
Superintendent of Police of Hoshiarpur, Anita Punj stated that the preliminary
inquiry conducted by the police confirmed Mr Kanda allegation of torture, and
ordered a department inquiry.
III. Violations of the prisoners’ rights
Prison conditions were deplorable and prisons were overcrowded in the Punjab. The
authorised capacity of prisons is 10,854 males and 888 females. However, there
were 14,860 male and 859 female inmates across the jails as of 18 December
2007. The Amritsar Central Jail was the most overcrowded jail with 2,137 male
prisoners against a capacity of 1455 male inmates, followed by Bathinda jail,
where there were 1,325 male inmates against capacity of 485, Jalandhar jail,
where there were 1,365 male inmates against capacity of 475. The Ropar jail had
439 inmates against its capacity of 30 inmates only.
On 22 December 2007, Justice RL Anand
of Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) paid a surprise visit to
Central Jail, Ferozepur to inspect the living conditions of inmates there.
Following the visit, Mr Anand said that though he found the general condition
of the jail hospital satisfactory, “But, I was shocked to know that in a
central jail like Ferozepur, where more than 1,000 inmates are living in
custody, no doctor has been posted despite sanction of two posts of doctors - a
senior medical officer and a medical officer”.
An investigation by The Tribune into the plight of women
prisoners in the jails in Punjab revealed that they were denied even minimum
requirements. The condition of women prisoners living in the dilapidated
women’s cell of the Jalandhar Central Jail was miserable. There were 86 women
inmates living in two small, dingy rooms whose actual capacity was only for 25
inmates. The floor of the cells was rutted and the roof was giving way. They
were forced to share four doorless toilets/bath-rooms attached to the rooms.
There was no privacy. There were about 50 children living with their mothers in
various jails of Punjab. They have been denied the fundamental right to
education. The mothers were too underfed to properly tend to their infants. On
3 July 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu notice of The Tribune’s investigative reports and issued
notices to the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police (Prisons) and the Home Secretary of Punjab.
Torture was widespread in the jails. According
to the information obtained by Asian Centre for Human Rights under the Right to
Information Act of 2005, the NHRC received 87 cases of death in judicial
custody in Punjab during the period of 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.
On 1 November 2007, the Punjab and
Haryana High Court directed the police to register a case in the custodial death
of Kewal Singh in Central Jail, Ferozepore in Punjab on 20 April 2007. The
court took cognizance of the post mortem report which found as many as 13
injuries on the deceased’s body.
On 27 March 2007, Raj Singh, an
undertrial prisoner allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the
Central Jail in Patiala.
On 12 June
2007, another undertrial prisoner Gurdev Singh of Ferozepur Central Jail died
under mysterious circumstances within minutes after being shifted to a
hospital.
On 1 September 2007, undertrial Jawala
Singh, lodged in the Cenral Jail in Bathinda, allegedly committed suicide by
hanging himself from a water pipe.
On 19 November 2007, undertrial
Paramjit Singh, lodged in the Jalandhar Central Jail, died after he complained
of chest pain.
1.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
2.
Bring
transparency in police force: PSHRC, The Tribune, 3 May 2007
3.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
4.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
5.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
6.
Information
obtained by ACHR from NHRC by filing of RTI application
7.
2006
Annual Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
8.
Lack of
amenities at juvenile home, The Tribune, 4 September 2007
9.
Supreme Court
of India, Court News- October – December 2007, available at: http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/CtNewsOct_Dec07.pdf
10.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
11.
Information
obtained by ACHR from NHRC by filing of RTI application
12.
Bring
transparency in police force: PSHRC, The Tribune, 3 May 2007
13.
2006 Annual
Report of the National Crime Records Bureau
14.
Bring
transparency in police force: PSHRC, The Tribune, 3 May 2007
15.
2 Cops Suspended - Youth dies in custody, The Tribune, 20 August 2007
16.
Suicide
after cop ‘torture’, The Telegraph, 9 June 2007
17.
Custodial
death: Life for 5 cops, The Tribune, 8 December 2007
18.
Follow-up -
Killing of father, son - 4 BSF jawans sent to police
custody, The Tribune, 21 May 2007
19.
Information
obtained by ACHR from NHRC by filing of RTI application
20.
2 brothers rescued from
illegal police custody, The Tribune, 22 April 2007
21.
Bloody battle in Zirakpur - Residents storm police station after
‘brutality’ -
12 hurt; police opens fire to disperse protesters, The Tribune, 25 March 2007
22.
PSHRC notice to govt on
Home Guard's torture, The Tribune, 10 April 2007
23.
Police Torture - Rights body seeks report, The Tribune, 23 May 2007
24.
Probe against
SHO ordered in torture case, The Tribune, 25 August 2007
25.
State jails overcrowded, The Tribune, 19 December 2007
26.
No
doctor at Ferozepur Central Jail, Punjab State Human
Rights Commission, see http://www.pshrc.net/html/news1.asp?Id=78
27.
From
Behind The Bars — II: No floor underneath, no roof overhead, The Tribune, 3
July 2007
28.
From Behind The
Bars — III - Children suffer with mothers, The Tribune, 4 July 2007
29.
HC takes suo motu notice of Tribune report on jails, The Tribune, 4 July
2007
30.
Information
obtained by ACHR from NHRC by filing of RTI application
31.
High Court -
Registration of case in custodial death ordered, The Tribune, 2 November 2007
32.
Jail inmate
commits suicide -
DC orders magisterial inquiry, The Tribune, 28 March 2007
33.
Undertrial dies in Ferozepur jail, The Times of India, 14 June 2007
34.
Undertrial commits
suicide, The Tribune, 2 September 2007
35.
Undertrial dies, The Hindu,
20 November 2007