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

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