annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights
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INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Tamil Nadu<br />
Tamil Nadu Police <strong>report</strong>edly conducted<br />
combing operation in the areas of<br />
Perumanallur, Anupparpalayam,<br />
Mangalam and some pockets of Tirupur<br />
North, South and Rural police limits under<br />
Tirupur in Coimbatore district. The police<br />
allegedly took 428 persons into custody<br />
arbitrarily, detained them in the police<br />
station <strong>for</strong> the night and released them on<br />
the next day only after taking their<br />
finger<strong>print</strong>s without assigning any reason. 3<br />
Sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan was<br />
killed on 18 October 2004. However, the<br />
<strong>report</strong> of the Justice A.J. Sadashiva, a<br />
<strong>for</strong>mer judge of the Karnataka high court<br />
who was commissioned by the National<br />
<strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Commission in June 1999<br />
to look into the complaints of torture and<br />
harassment by Special Task Force (STF)<br />
personnel while hunting Veerappan, is yet<br />
to be made public.<br />
The Dalits are subjected to torture,<br />
humiliation and other violations. On the<br />
night of 16 May 2004, houses of several<br />
Dalit families were set on fire in Kalapatti<br />
village under Coimbatore allegedly by<br />
upper caste men of the village <strong>for</strong> not<br />
voting in favour of their candidate in the<br />
Lok Sabha elections. 4<br />
II. <strong>Human</strong> rights violations by law<br />
en<strong>for</strong>cement personnel<br />
i. Arbitrary deprivation of the right to life<br />
There have been <strong>report</strong>s of serious<br />
human rights violations by the police<br />
including arbitrary deprivation of the right<br />
to life. The NHRC registered 57 cases of<br />
custodial deaths in Tamilnadu in 1999-<br />
222<br />
2000, 28 cases in 2000-2001, 55 cases in<br />
2001-2002 and 68 cases in 2002-2003. 5<br />
On the morning of 3 October 2004,<br />
Senthil, who was arrested in connection<br />
with a case of theft of a cell-phone was<br />
<strong>report</strong>edly found hanging from the ceiling<br />
inside the lock-up at Shastri Nagar police<br />
station in Chennai. Police officials claimed<br />
that he had committed suicide due to some<br />
health problem. But the locals alleged that<br />
Senthil had died due to police harassment<br />
and torture in custody. 6<br />
In a rare judgement in March 2004,<br />
Madras High Court directed the Tamil<br />
Nadu government to pay Rs 4.30 lakh as<br />
compensation to the petitioner S Meena, a<br />
postal department employee and mother of<br />
one Wilson who was killed at Royapettah<br />
police station in Chennai on 22 June 1993.<br />
The Court, after going through the <strong>report</strong>s,<br />
maintained that Wilson’s death was a<br />
result of “brutal and inhuman” attack and<br />
torture he suffered after being arrested on<br />
the night of 21 June 1993. The judge<br />
further held that the court had no doubt<br />
that Wilson had died in the police station<br />
and the story about his being taken to<br />
hospital <strong>for</strong> giddiness was false. The court<br />
also directed the State Home Secretary and<br />
police authority to prosecute five police<br />
personnel and take necessary action<br />
against them. 7<br />
ii. Arbitrary arrest, detention and<br />
torture<br />
Arbitrary arrest, detention and torture<br />
by the Tamil Nadu police are common. It<br />
was also a common feature while trying to