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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Delhi
In all the custodial death cases in
2003, the Delhi Police allegedly managed
to bend the law to protect their guilty
colleagues. In 2004, the situation remained
the same. In the case of torture of one
Rajan Sharma on 19 March 2004 at
Sunlight Colony police post, no action was
allegedly taken against the two constables
despite a written complaint to the Station
House Officer of the Srinivaspuri Police
Station. 2 The Delhi High Court in an order
in May 2004 summoned the Deputy
Commissioner of Police (Crime), Sub-
Inspector Praveen Kumar and his
immediate Assistant Commissioner of
Police for failing to initiate action against
Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar. The Sub-
Inspector had picked up, detained and
tortured Deepak Kumar, a teenager at
Ambedkarnagar police station and got the
victim admitted to Batra Hospital under a
fictitious name to avoid any action. 3
Despite the presence of the media,
political leaders, National Human Rights
Commission and the diplomatic
community, law enforcement personnel
ranging from Delhi Police to Railway
Protection Force were responsible for
arbitrary arrest, detention and torture. In
August 2004, a 16-year-old street boy
alleged that he was forced to indulge in
“oral sex” with another 12-year-old as
“punishment” by some policemen of New
Friends Colony Police station. 4
A woman was reportedly raped in
Delhi every 24 hours in the first half of
2004. 5 The law enforcement personnel
were also responsible for rape and other
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violence against women.
The Tihar Jail, effectively country’s
show-piece for prison reforms also
witnessed serious violations of the rights
of the prisoners. An overcrowded prison
with 12,610 prisoners against the
sanctioned capacity of 5,050 prisoners,
there were reports of torture, suicide and
custodial deaths.
NGO activists working on the Right to
Information Act faced attacks from the
criminals for exposing their misdeeds. The
police often failed to take effective
measures to stop recurrence of such
attacks.
II. Arbitrary, summary and
extrajudicial executions
The Delhi Police were responsible for
arbitrary arrest, detention and torture and
arbitrary deprivation of life. The NHRC
registered 25 custodial deaths in Delhi in
1999-2000, 37 in 2000-2001 and 32 each
in 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. 6
In all cases of custodial deaths
occurred in 2003, the police some how
managed to bend the law to protect the
guilty colleagues. The Peoples Union for
Democratic Rights (PUDR) reportedly
investigated five deaths reported in police
custody in 2003 and found that at least
three were genuine cases of custodial
deaths. The most shocking of the three was
the killing of Sushil Kumar on 20 October
2003 at Madipur in North-West Delhi.
Kumar, the 32-year-old STD booth owner
died after being mercilessly beaten up by
five Delhi Police personnel. All the