India
25.09.03
Urgent Interventions
India: continuing impunity of those responsible for a death by torture in 1997
Case IND 250903
Arbitrary detention / Torture / Death in detention / Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest, torture and subsequent death in detention of Mr. Babai Biswas and the continuing impunity of the perpetrators of these acts some six years later in India.
According to the information received, 22-year-old Babai Biswas, was arbitrarily arrested and detained from April 8th, 1997 until the next day, April 9th, when the police brought his dead body to the Bangur Hospital. The victim was arrested at 6/56/1 Bijoygarh Golony by police officers led by Sun Inspector (SI) Amrita Kumar Majumdar. The police reportedly took him to the Keorapukur Temporary Outpost, the Thakurpukur police station detention facility, and then to the Jadavpur Dist. 24 Paraganas (South) to the chamber of Mr. Avijit Sen Gupta, the Deputy Superintendent of the Police. The next day at about 2:00 p.m. the police brought his body to the hospital. Dr. Tudu declared Babai dead and refused to give the police a death certificate with the cause of death as being "natural." The police then contacted Dr. Sunil Ghosh, the officiating District Medical Officer, who directed Dr. Tudu to issue a death certificate stating Cardiac Respiratory Failure to be the cause of death.
Mr. G.C.Saha, the Executive Magistrate, examined the body at about 11:00pm on April 10th. He also admitted to having had "a few talks" with Avijit Sengupta, DSP (Town) before he went to the M. R. Bangur Hospital morgue – he reportedly only recorded an abrasion on the left forearm. The post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr. A. K. Nandi of the Department of Forensic & State Medicines, Calcutta. The following are examples of the 29 injuries found on the body of Babai Biswas, contrary to the findings of the Executive Magistrate: (1) Linear abrasion 1" placed obliquely over lateral margin of Rt. upper eyelid; (2) Haematoma 7" X 5" over Rt. flexor of large intestine; (3) Interior surface of Rt. lobe of liver adherence of clotted blood over an area of 1 ½" in diameter; (4) Omentum related to intestinal coiles contain blood all along the mysentery including the adjacent areas of intestine; (5) Evidence of about one litre of liquid and clotted blood inside the abdominal cavity. According to the forensic expert, these grave injuries were caused by the application of brute force, and were ante-mortem and homicidal in nature.
According to the police, Babai was arrested due to a complaint made by Babua Chakraborty. However, Babua Chakraborty stated before the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) that he had made no such complaint. Police also said they seized a revolver loaded with 3 live cartridges from Babai. In the seizure list prepared by the police, Mr. Lakshman Samanta and Mr. Sanjay Mondal were recorded as witnesses, but they later stated before the WBHRC that they neither saw Babai when he was arrested, nor did they see the seizure of the revolver from Babai Biswas. They said that they were called to Keorapukur by police on April 10th, 1997 and were coerced into signing a document without knowing its contents. The WBHRC submitted a detailed report to the state government stating that the policemen had murdered Babai while he was in custody.
After this WBHRC submission, the Late Amal Narayan Biswas, the father of the victim, filed a First Information Report (FIR) on 10 April 1997. The police later said that the report was missing. The police then filed the case and submitted a Charge Sheet against the alleged perpetrators of these acts: 1) Dibyendu Banerjee, Insp. Of Police, the then Officer in Charge of Thakurpukur PS; 2) Amrita K Majumdar SI (committed suicide after initiation of police case) 3) Avijit Sengupta, the then DSP (Town) Jadavpur, (now promoted to Additional Superintendent of Police), 4) Dr. Sunil Kr. Ghosh, the then Superintendent of the District Hospital; 5) Dr. S.C. Tudu 6) G.C.Saha, Executive Magistrate; 7) Benu Das, Sub-inspector of Police.
The Judicial Magistrate (JM), Alipur, brought the trial to the Court of Session. The father of the victim raised an objection to the improper manner of the police investigations, but the JM rejected this petition. Thereafter, the victim's father went to the High Court under its Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction, and this case is still pending. Aside from this, the father of the victim also filed a petition to the Supreme Court of India for clarification of what he believed were unjust proceedings in the Court of Sessions. However, the Supreme Court directed the trial to continue at the Court of Sessions and did not conduct its own investigation of the case. The mother of the victim, Smt. Ava Biswas, also sought permission for an appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor on her behalf, but the court turned her down.
The Court case has since then been beset by problems, including claims that a number of vital seized documents had been "destroyed" and / or "completely damaged due to rain and white ants," which, six years after Babai Biswas’ death have meant that the alleged perpetrators have not been brought to justice and adequate reparation has not been awarded to the victim’s family, despite a body of evidence showing that he lost his life as a result of torture while in detention.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the impunity that is being enjoyed by the alleged perpetrators of these acts, notably as some of them have reportedly even received promotions within the police. OMCT calls on the authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, and award adequate reparation to the family of the victim.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Union Office of the Prime Minister, South Block 11, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: + 91 112 23016857/19545
· The President of India, His Excellency A.J.P. Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, India, Fax: +91 112 23017290
· Home Secretary, Kamal Pandey, Ministry of Home Affairs, Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 23015750
· Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, Room No.104, North Block, New Delhi 100 001, India, Fax: +91 11 309 4221
· The Attorney General, Mr Soli Sorobjee, The Office of the Attorney General, Supreme Court Of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 6862957
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, September 25th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention / Torture / Death in detention / Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest, torture and subsequent death in detention of Mr. Babai Biswas and the continuing impunity of the perpetrators of these acts some six years later in India.
According to the information received, 22-year-old Babai Biswas, was arbitrarily arrested and detained from April 8th, 1997 until the next day, April 9th, when the police brought his dead body to the Bangur Hospital. The victim was arrested at 6/56/1 Bijoygarh Golony by police officers led by Sun Inspector (SI) Amrita Kumar Majumdar. The police reportedly took him to the Keorapukur Temporary Outpost, the Thakurpukur police station detention facility, and then to the Jadavpur Dist. 24 Paraganas (South) to the chamber of Mr. Avijit Sen Gupta, the Deputy Superintendent of the Police. The next day at about 2:00 p.m. the police brought his body to the hospital. Dr. Tudu declared Babai dead and refused to give the police a death certificate with the cause of death as being "natural." The police then contacted Dr. Sunil Ghosh, the officiating District Medical Officer, who directed Dr. Tudu to issue a death certificate stating Cardiac Respiratory Failure to be the cause of death.
Mr. G.C.Saha, the Executive Magistrate, examined the body at about 11:00pm on April 10th. He also admitted to having had "a few talks" with Avijit Sengupta, DSP (Town) before he went to the M. R. Bangur Hospital morgue – he reportedly only recorded an abrasion on the left forearm. The post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr. A. K. Nandi of the Department of Forensic & State Medicines, Calcutta. The following are examples of the 29 injuries found on the body of Babai Biswas, contrary to the findings of the Executive Magistrate: (1) Linear abrasion 1" placed obliquely over lateral margin of Rt. upper eyelid; (2) Haematoma 7" X 5" over Rt. flexor of large intestine; (3) Interior surface of Rt. lobe of liver adherence of clotted blood over an area of 1 ½" in diameter; (4) Omentum related to intestinal coiles contain blood all along the mysentery including the adjacent areas of intestine; (5) Evidence of about one litre of liquid and clotted blood inside the abdominal cavity. According to the forensic expert, these grave injuries were caused by the application of brute force, and were ante-mortem and homicidal in nature.
According to the police, Babai was arrested due to a complaint made by Babua Chakraborty. However, Babua Chakraborty stated before the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) that he had made no such complaint. Police also said they seized a revolver loaded with 3 live cartridges from Babai. In the seizure list prepared by the police, Mr. Lakshman Samanta and Mr. Sanjay Mondal were recorded as witnesses, but they later stated before the WBHRC that they neither saw Babai when he was arrested, nor did they see the seizure of the revolver from Babai Biswas. They said that they were called to Keorapukur by police on April 10th, 1997 and were coerced into signing a document without knowing its contents. The WBHRC submitted a detailed report to the state government stating that the policemen had murdered Babai while he was in custody.
After this WBHRC submission, the Late Amal Narayan Biswas, the father of the victim, filed a First Information Report (FIR) on 10 April 1997. The police later said that the report was missing. The police then filed the case and submitted a Charge Sheet against the alleged perpetrators of these acts: 1) Dibyendu Banerjee, Insp. Of Police, the then Officer in Charge of Thakurpukur PS; 2) Amrita K Majumdar SI (committed suicide after initiation of police case) 3) Avijit Sengupta, the then DSP (Town) Jadavpur, (now promoted to Additional Superintendent of Police), 4) Dr. Sunil Kr. Ghosh, the then Superintendent of the District Hospital; 5) Dr. S.C. Tudu 6) G.C.Saha, Executive Magistrate; 7) Benu Das, Sub-inspector of Police.
The Judicial Magistrate (JM), Alipur, brought the trial to the Court of Session. The father of the victim raised an objection to the improper manner of the police investigations, but the JM rejected this petition. Thereafter, the victim's father went to the High Court under its Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction, and this case is still pending. Aside from this, the father of the victim also filed a petition to the Supreme Court of India for clarification of what he believed were unjust proceedings in the Court of Sessions. However, the Supreme Court directed the trial to continue at the Court of Sessions and did not conduct its own investigation of the case. The mother of the victim, Smt. Ava Biswas, also sought permission for an appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor on her behalf, but the court turned her down.
The Court case has since then been beset by problems, including claims that a number of vital seized documents had been "destroyed" and / or "completely damaged due to rain and white ants," which, six years after Babai Biswas’ death have meant that the alleged perpetrators have not been brought to justice and adequate reparation has not been awarded to the victim’s family, despite a body of evidence showing that he lost his life as a result of torture while in detention.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the impunity that is being enjoyed by the alleged perpetrators of these acts, notably as some of them have reportedly even received promotions within the police. OMCT calls on the authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, and award adequate reparation to the family of the victim.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Union Office of the Prime Minister, South Block 11, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: + 91 112 23016857/19545
· The President of India, His Excellency A.J.P. Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, India, Fax: +91 112 23017290
· Home Secretary, Kamal Pandey, Ministry of Home Affairs, Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 23015750
· Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, Room No.104, North Block, New Delhi 100 001, India, Fax: +91 11 309 4221
· The Attorney General, Mr Soli Sorobjee, The Office of the Attorney General, Supreme Court Of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: +91 112 6862957
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, September 25th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.