India
22.10.01
Urgent Interventions
India: release on bail of the 15 detainees arrested for having allegedly attacked the police during a demonstration
Case IND 020701.1
Follow-up of Case IND 020701
Release on bail / Harrassment
Geneva, November 22, 2001
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in India.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Indian Centre for Human Rights and Law, a member of the OMCT network, of the release on bail of the 15 detainees arrested for having allegedly attacked the police during a demonstration in early July 2001, and the ongoing harassment of the Adivasis people by the police in the village of Puntamba, India.
According to the information received, the tribal demonstrators were demanding the re-arrest of Babasaheb Chavan (36), the district’s local youth congress leader, who had been charged with molesting a tribal girl. Mr. Chavan had been released on bail two days after his arrest. The demonstrators were protesting against this situation, claiming that he should have been charged with attempted rape, which would have incurred a harsher sentence. Pradip Dushing (36), Indubai Manjre (45), and another woman, whose identity is unknown, were shot and killed by police officials during the demonstration of tribal people outside the police outpost in the village of Puntamba. Pradip Dushing and Indubai Manjre were leaders of an organisation who are promoting land rights for the tribal people, and it is thought that the police used the demonstration as an excuse to shoot and kill these activists. The 15 people, including three women, who had been arrested and detained after the incident were released on bail on July 12th, 2001, and are still being tried under Section 360 of the IPC and Arms Act for having allegedly attacked the police during the demonstration.
According to the information received, the Parliament of the Maharashtra Union State had promised to launch an investigation into the circumstances of the killing, but has never undertaken such an inquiry. The local police may have investigated the case, but have not made any of the results of these investigations public, and have denied any police responsibility. The police officers who were in charge when the killing took place have not been made responsible for the shootings, and have not even been transferred to another district, allowing them to continue harrassing the local Adivasi people. The police maintains pressure on the Adivasis through several means, one of them is ordering people to come in to the police station for “routine” controls on a regular basis, which creates a climate of being under constant supervision.
The International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the release of the 15 persons in question, but condemns the ongoing harrassment of the Adivasi people and calls on the Indian authorities to immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the events which resulted in three persons being shot and killed, two of whom were prominent land rights activists in the area, an unknown but potentially significant number having been injured and 15 persons having been arrested, in order for the perpetrators of these acts to be brought to justice. OMCT also calls for the legal action being brought against the demonstrators to be dropped in the absence of valid legal charges.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, the police had claimed that the demonstrators had become violent and had begun attacking them with axes and other sharp weapons, leading to 17 policemen being wounded during a demonstration in the village of Puntamba in early July 2001. Reports suggested that this is not however the case, and that the police began firing at the assembled tribal demonstrators with the intention of killing members of an organisation who are promoting land rights for the tribal people. In fact, Mr. Dushing and Mr. Manjre were both leaders of this organisation, and investigations conducted at the scene indicated that the police had chased the demonstrators around 100 metres before shooting Mr. Dushing. It would seem that the police were trying to use the demonstration as a cover for an operation to murder members of the land rights organisation. Eye-witnesses have claimed that the two activists seemed to be being targeted by sub-inspector Govind Mali and the head of the village, Mr. Mauch, against whom Mr. Dushing had previously lodged several complaints, due to the officials having threatened them on behalf of landlords, in the ongoing land rights conflict.
According to the information received, 15 other tribal demonstrators, including three women, were arrested following the incident at the police station, and were reportedly being falsely accused of attacking the police and conspiring to set the police station on fire. It is thought that many of the demonstrators that had been injured during the incident were too scared to seek medical assistance, as they feared they may too be arrested.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the killing in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee the right to reparation to the families of the people killed, and to persons injured and/or detained as a consequence of these events;
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
· H.E. President K.R. Narayanan, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824
· H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011 Fax: 91-11-3019545 / 91-11-3016857 indun@undp.org
· Mr L.K. Advani, Home Minister of India, South Block, New Dehli 110001, India, Fax: +91 11 3015750
· Justice A. N. Varma, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India
Fax: 91-11-334 0016
· Sh Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Chief Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra, 6th Floor, Sectt., Mumbai 400032, India, Fax +91 22 3031446
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, November 22, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case IND 020701
Release on bail / Harrassment
Geneva, November 22, 2001
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in India.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Indian Centre for Human Rights and Law, a member of the OMCT network, of the release on bail of the 15 detainees arrested for having allegedly attacked the police during a demonstration in early July 2001, and the ongoing harassment of the Adivasis people by the police in the village of Puntamba, India.
According to the information received, the tribal demonstrators were demanding the re-arrest of Babasaheb Chavan (36), the district’s local youth congress leader, who had been charged with molesting a tribal girl. Mr. Chavan had been released on bail two days after his arrest. The demonstrators were protesting against this situation, claiming that he should have been charged with attempted rape, which would have incurred a harsher sentence. Pradip Dushing (36), Indubai Manjre (45), and another woman, whose identity is unknown, were shot and killed by police officials during the demonstration of tribal people outside the police outpost in the village of Puntamba. Pradip Dushing and Indubai Manjre were leaders of an organisation who are promoting land rights for the tribal people, and it is thought that the police used the demonstration as an excuse to shoot and kill these activists. The 15 people, including three women, who had been arrested and detained after the incident were released on bail on July 12th, 2001, and are still being tried under Section 360 of the IPC and Arms Act for having allegedly attacked the police during the demonstration.
According to the information received, the Parliament of the Maharashtra Union State had promised to launch an investigation into the circumstances of the killing, but has never undertaken such an inquiry. The local police may have investigated the case, but have not made any of the results of these investigations public, and have denied any police responsibility. The police officers who were in charge when the killing took place have not been made responsible for the shootings, and have not even been transferred to another district, allowing them to continue harrassing the local Adivasi people. The police maintains pressure on the Adivasis through several means, one of them is ordering people to come in to the police station for “routine” controls on a regular basis, which creates a climate of being under constant supervision.
The International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the release of the 15 persons in question, but condemns the ongoing harrassment of the Adivasi people and calls on the Indian authorities to immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the events which resulted in three persons being shot and killed, two of whom were prominent land rights activists in the area, an unknown but potentially significant number having been injured and 15 persons having been arrested, in order for the perpetrators of these acts to be brought to justice. OMCT also calls for the legal action being brought against the demonstrators to be dropped in the absence of valid legal charges.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, the police had claimed that the demonstrators had become violent and had begun attacking them with axes and other sharp weapons, leading to 17 policemen being wounded during a demonstration in the village of Puntamba in early July 2001. Reports suggested that this is not however the case, and that the police began firing at the assembled tribal demonstrators with the intention of killing members of an organisation who are promoting land rights for the tribal people. In fact, Mr. Dushing and Mr. Manjre were both leaders of this organisation, and investigations conducted at the scene indicated that the police had chased the demonstrators around 100 metres before shooting Mr. Dushing. It would seem that the police were trying to use the demonstration as a cover for an operation to murder members of the land rights organisation. Eye-witnesses have claimed that the two activists seemed to be being targeted by sub-inspector Govind Mali and the head of the village, Mr. Mauch, against whom Mr. Dushing had previously lodged several complaints, due to the officials having threatened them on behalf of landlords, in the ongoing land rights conflict.
According to the information received, 15 other tribal demonstrators, including three women, were arrested following the incident at the police station, and were reportedly being falsely accused of attacking the police and conspiring to set the police station on fire. It is thought that many of the demonstrators that had been injured during the incident were too scared to seek medical assistance, as they feared they may too be arrested.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the killing in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee the right to reparation to the families of the people killed, and to persons injured and/or detained as a consequence of these events;
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
· H.E. President K.R. Narayanan, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824
· H.E. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011 Fax: 91-11-3019545 / 91-11-3016857 indun@undp.org
· Mr L.K. Advani, Home Minister of India, South Block, New Dehli 110001, India, Fax: +91 11 3015750
· Justice A. N. Varma, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India
Fax: 91-11-334 0016
· Sh Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Chief Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra, 6th Floor, Sectt., Mumbai 400032, India, Fax +91 22 3031446
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, November 22, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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