annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Kerala
had been brutally tortured prior to his
death. There were allegedly blood clots on
many parts of his body and cuts and
bruises on his head, ear, chest and
abdomen. The post-mortem was
reportedly carried out by a police surgeon. 4
ii. Arbitrary arrest, detention and torture
The Kerala Police resorted to torture
and other inhuman and degrading
treatment. The police also used electric
shock batons during lathi charge.
Three youth, two of them identified as
Iqbal and Bava, were allegedly illegally
detained and assaulted by the police at the
Bantwal police station in Mangalore
district on 11 and 12 January 2004.
Bantwal police had registered a case
against three on a complaint from
Rathnakar Shetty, the main accused in the
murder of Isubu, a petty trader at Kalladka.
But all the youth obtained anticipatory
bail, under which they needed to present
themselves at the station every Sunday.
The police allegedly detained them for
nearly five hours on 11 January 2004
without obtaining their signatures and
directed them to come back the next day.
On 12 January 2004 the youth were
allegedly assaulted at the police station for
12 hours. Bava had to be operated upon in
a private hospital. The PUCL Mangalore
district unit claimed that Iqbal was not
even an accused. 5
On 15 January 2004, Mohammed
Siddique, a laboratory technician in
Malappuram, was allegedly picked up by
the Malappuram police from his house in
connection with his marriage with Femina,
daughter of a wealthy businessman, without
the consent of her family members in
December 2003. He was kept in illegal
detention till 21 January 2004 and was
tortured during his detention. He allegedly
suffered from serious internal injuries,
which were certified by a doctor. The police
told him that he would be released only
after the marriage was cancelled and he
signed some blank papers. On 15 January
2004, Mohammed’s mother lodged a
complaint before the District Collector as
well as the Superintendent of Police, but no
action was initiated. The next day i.e. on 16
January 2004, she filed a write petition (Cr
No.16 of 2004) before the High Court of
Kerala to have her son produced in court as
the police had earlier denied the arrest. The
police finally produced the victim before
the court on 21 January 2004 and the court
ordered him to be released after executing a
bond worth Rs. 25,000/- and with a
condition not to leave the State without
sanction from the court. The court directed
the Manjeri District Sessions judge to
conduct an inquiry into the alleged torture
of the victim by the Malappuram police
during detention. 6
On 18 October 2004, police allegedly
used electric shock batons during lathi
charge on protesting student activists who
were waving black flags at a visiting
minister at the Pariyaram Medical College
campus, Kannur. Some of the
demonstrators were stripped of their dhotis
and the eletric shock batons were used at
sensitive parts. 7
127