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

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Haryana
Commission. 1
In a State where the imbalance of sex
ratio is 861 females for every 1000 males, 2
buying of brides - the victims of
trafficking, is a common practice.
Panchayats across Haryana have been
acting as extra-constitutional authorities to
declare marriages of different gotras
(clans) invalid with virtual impunity.
While judicial interventions in a few cases
provided relief to the victims, no action
has been taken against such village council
members.
The National Commission for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
ranked Haryana as number two in 2003 for
atrocities against the Dalits. There has
been little improvement of the situations
of the Dalits.
The State government of Haryana has
taken little measures to rehabilitate the
persons who were displaced by industrial
projects in Panipat district.
II. Atrocities by security forces
i. Arbitrary deprivation of the right to life
The National Human Rights
Commission had registered 29 custodial
deaths in 1999-2000, 24 in 2000-2001, 39
in 2001-2002 and 47 in 2002-2003 in
Haryana. 3
In 2004, there were many reports of
arbitrary deprivation of the right to life by
Haryana Police.
On the night of 25 February 2004,
Kailash was taken into custody by the
Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA)
personnel on suspicion of possessing
74
charas, marijuana, and died in the police
custody in Jind town. He was allegedly
tortured till he became unconscious and
was dumped nearby his residence. He was
taken to the General Hospital of Jind
where the doctors declared him dead. The
police reportedly registered a case under
Section 302 of Indian Penal Code against
Assistant Sub-Inspector, Mr Heera Lal,
Head constable, Mr Jaipal and four other
police officials. 4
On the intervening night of 12 and 13
June 2004, Sheo Chand, a resident of
village Dulet was killed in the custody of
the Bhuna police station in Fatehabad
district. He was earlier handed over to the
police after being tied with a rope by one
Pawan and his father Satish. He was also
beaten up following an altercation with the
two after buying and consuming liquor
from their shop. The shop allegedly did
not have a licence but liquor was sold in
connivance with the local police. The
police took him to Bhuna Police Station
and later moved him to the Community
Health Centre at Bhuna at about 2 a.m. in
the night in a serious condition. At 3 am,
he died. On 13 June 2004, the police
arrested the two shopkeepers who were
remanded to judicial custody in Hisar jail
for 14 days. A post-mortem of the body of
the victim was reportedly conducted on 13
June 2004. On 14 June 2004, the Judicial
Magistrate, Ms Ritu Y. K. Bahl remanded
Sub-Inspector Umed Singh, who was also
the Station House Officer (SHO) of Bhuna
police station to 14-day judicial custody. 5
In early July 2004, two policemen,