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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Chhattisgarh
from Bhalesur village died in the custody
at Suhela police station in the Raipur
district. 6 He was arrested on 7 August 2004
on the suspicion that he had stolen diesel
worth Rs 300 from a vehicle. He was
allegedly detained illegally for six days in
police custody and tortured. In order to
humiliate him further, the police took him
to his village Bhalesur and to his in-laws’
village too. There, they allegedly beat him
up in public. Villagers alleged that when
the policemen brought him to the village to
humiliate him, he could hardly walk due to
torture by the police. The police claimed
that Ramkumar committed suicide by
hanging himself from the ventilation of the
lavatory with the blanket provided to him.
The villagers alleged that he was murdered
during his detention and in order to save
their skins, the police hanged his dead
body to convert the case into a case of
suicide. The post mortem on Ramkumar’s
body was conducted and his body was
buried secretly. Later on, in response to a
public interest litigation, the Chhattisgarh
High Court directed for re-post mortem,
where forensic experts found several
injury marks all over his body. 7 On 9
September 2004, Chief Minister Raman
Singh stated that following report of
magisterial inquiry, assistant sub-inspector
Subhash Pradhan, head constable
Punnuram Deharia, constables Mahesh
Verma and Rohit Verma were suspended
and later arrested. Besides, inspector of
Suhela police station G.P. Mishra and Ms.
Usha Sondhiya were also suspended on
charges of negligence. Dr A.P. Nayak and
Dr G.S. Som, who conducted the first postmortem
on the deceased, were also
suspended and a case had been registered
against them on charges of suppressing
evidence. 8
On the night of 3 September 2004,
Sukhpal Lodhi succumbed to torture by
Government Railway Police (GRP).
Sukhpal Lodhi reportedly arrived at the
Bhilai railway station with his wife Sukhdei
to catch the Sarnath Express on the night of
2 September 2004. When he saw two GRP
constables, Supen Kumar Rai and Cardius
Tigga, he tried to run away. On complaint
from his wife that he was forcibly taking
her to his home in Bihar, he was arrested
and taken to the GRP post at Bhilai in Durg
district. There he was beaten up mercilessly.
When his condition deteriorated, they sent
him home. At home, Sukhpal complained
of severe pain in his chest and back. His
wife took him to the district hospital where
he died on 3 September 2004. The postmortem
report allegedly revealed that he
had sustained serious injuries in his spine.
His lungs were damaged and three of his
ribs were broken. 9
On the intervening night of 4-5
September 2004, one Chandraprakash
Ogre belonging to the backward
community of Balauda in Janjgir district
died in the police custody. He was waiting
at the bus stand to go to his in-law’s house
on the night of 4 September 2004, when a
person called the police and handed him to
them finding him of suspicious nature.
Next day Ogre’s body was found in a
semi-naked condition inside Balauda
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