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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Maharashtra
the state legislature on 18 December 2004
by state health minister Vimal Mundada
stated that 82,000 children died every year
in rural Maharashtra, excluding the 23,500
kids who died in the tribal areas. In urban
slums, 56,000 children died every year.
According to the survey, most of the
deaths were caused by malnutrition and
infection. Nearly 80 per cent of the deaths
happened due to stillbirth, pneumonia and
diarrhoea. 34
IV. Misuse of POTA and MCOCA
There have been allegations of
misuse of the Prevention of Terrorists Act
(POTA) and Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). On 4
June 2004, the State government
announced a three-member panel headed
by former High Court judge
Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari to
review the MCOCA. 35
On 13 February 2004, the state
government announced the decision to drop
charges filed under POTA against 29 people,
most of whom were arrested in a riots case
150
in Solapur in 2003, at the recommendation
of the state-level review committee on
POTA cases, headed by Additional Chief
Secretary (Home) Suresh Kumar. 36
On 16 April 2004 Zaheer Ahmed
Sheikh, the prime accused in the blast of a
BEST bus at Ghatkopar on 2 December
2002 that left two persons dead and 34
injured, was reportedly granted bail for Rs
1 lakh following the ruling of the Central
POTA Review Committee that there was
no prima facie evidence against him.
Sheikh was arrested along with three
others from Parbhani in Maharashtra on 27
December 2002. 37
On 20 October 2004, Saquib Nachen,
a POTA accused in the Mulund blast case,
filed an application seeking that Special
Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian be booked
under the POTA for providing false
information to the court in his case. He has
alleged that Salian charged him under
POTA but later discharged him along with
nine others. Nachen alleged that Salian
had knowledge about the entire matter; but
failed to act in his favour. 38
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