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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Delhi
accused policemen were booked for
murder, but were never arrested. Though
the police claimed they were under
detention, they roamed freely. Kumar’s
autopsy was inconclusive and the police
officials stated that they would arrest the
accused only if the viscera report, which
was awaited, suggested that Kumar died
because of the beating - a clear departure
from the normal practice. 7
In 2004, a few police personnel were
punished for violation of the right to life in
police custody. On 15 July 2004, the Court
of Additional Sessions Judge sentenced a
Delhi Police constable Anil Kumar to life
imprisonment and the three other convicts
- SHO Rajender Singh Dhaiya, Sub
Inspector Sher Singh and one Manoharlal
Narang to five years rigorous
imprisonment in connection with the
custodial death of one Jagannath at Lahori
Gate police station on the night of 1 and 2
May 1991. The deceased was allegedly
picked up by the accused policemen for
questioning and mercilessly beaten up in
custody that led to his death at St. Stephen
Hospital. 8 In another judgement in June
2004 on custodial death of an autorickshaw
driver, the Delhi High Court held
the Delhi police guilty of violating the
Supreme Court guidelines to be followed
while arresting a person and imposed a
fine of Rs 5 lakh. 9
In 2004, there were many incidents of
custodial death and arbitrary, summary
and extrajudicial deprivation of the right to
life.
On 16 January 2004, one Lacho Devi,
50, a homeless disabled woman was
allegedly beaten up by a Delhi police head
constable, Kishanpal near Cannaught
place’s Super Bazar. According to
eyewitnesses, head constable Kishanpal
kicked Lacho Devi’s wheelchair, dragged
her out of it and threw her on the ground.
She was grievously injured. The
policeman was shooing away the homeless
on the road and shouted at the old woman
who could not push her wheel chair
because of her disability. The policeman
instead of rushing the victim to hospital
left her on the road writhing in pain.
Finally, the victim died at Lady Hardinge
(MLC. number 2599/04) on 19 January
2004 of suspected septicemia. 10 The
eyewitnesses Ramesh and Nilo Devi who
were homeless themselves - claimed that
the New Delhi district police paid Rs
6,000 to them on 25 January 2004 in the
mortuary of the Lady Hardinge Hospital in
an attempt to silence them and influence
the investigation in favour of the accused
policeman. On 25 January 2004, the area
sub-divisional magistrate, I D Pandey,
summoned the two eyewitnesses and got
their statements recorded and
consequently doctors conducted a postmortem
in the hospital. 11
At around 11 a.m. on 25 February
2004, two army jawans Naik Sauri Raj of
Trichy in Tamil Nadu, and Sepoy Suresh G
from Chitoor in Andhra Pradesh along
with some other passengers at New Delhi
railway station reportedly beaten to death a
man accused of trying to steal the
belongings of the two jawans. The army
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