Fwd: Is police allowed to arrest anybody, detain & torture anyone & then release without any charge ?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kirity Roy <kirityroy@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 4:01 PM
Subject: Is police allowed to arrest anybody, detain & torture anyone & then release without any charge ?
To: NHRC <covdnhrc@nic.in>, chairnhrc@nic.in
Cc: Chief Minister West Bengal <cm@wb.gov.in>, Chief Secretary Gov of WB <chiefsec@wb.gov.in>, Secretary Home Dept Gov of WB <sechome@wb.gov.in>, "Member NHRC Mr. Satyabrata Pal" <satyabrata49@hotmail.com>, DM Murshidabad <dm.murshidabad@gmail.com>, dm-mur@wb.nic.in

26 April 2012

 

To

The Chairman

National Human Rights Commission

Faridkot House

Copernicus Marg

New Delhi

 

Respected Sir

 

I want to draw your attention on an incident of illegal arrest, detention and custodial torture. The incident took place under the jurisdiction of Raninagar police station of Murshidabad district. The victims of this brutal torture are in their teens and studying. You are well informed about the reign of violence by the law enforcement agencies at this part of the Indo- Bangladesh bordering areas. Moreover, Mr. Nilanjan Roy, Sub Inspector of Police, now attached with Raninagar Police Station is known for his notoriety and many complaints are pending before your Commission and other HRIs on his torturous acts.  

 

The victim; Mr. Gulam Mujtuba belongs to minority community and studying engineering at a nearby college. While the police apprehended him with his friends; not showed any reason, not prepared any memo of arrest and tortured them inside the police station and during their apprehension, obtained signatures in blank papers and denied food and water in the police station. Moreover, the police released them without explicit reasons for arrest. The act was according to the whims of the police and in contravention of prescribed law and procedure.

 

I am attaching a detail of the incident for your reference.

 

In this regard I demand for:-

 

1.    An independent inquiry of the occurrence

2.    Booking of offending police personnel according the prescribed legal provisions

3.    Guarantee of protection and safety for the victims and witnesses with the family members of the victims

4.    Due compensation for their financial loss incurred by medical treatment

 

Sincerely Yours

 

 

 

 

(Kirity Roy)

Secretary, MASUM

&

National Convener, PACTI     

 

 

Name and details of the victim: Mr. Golam Mujtuba; son of Mr. Nazrul Islam; aged around 19 years, resident of Village- Char Majhardiar, Post Office- Border Para, Police Station- Raninagar of Murshidabad District

 

Name and details of the perpetrators: Mr. Nilanjan Roy; Sub Inspector of Raninagar Police Station and 7 other Constables of the same police station

 

Date and time of the occurrence: 03.03.2012 at about 8 pm

 

Place of occurrence: Char Majhardiar, Post Office- Borderpara, Police Station- Raninagar

 

Case Detail

 

The victim Mr. Gulam Mujtuba, is a student of local college at Narsinghapur. His father is a respectable and educated person of the area. Mr. Nazrul Islam is trying hard to educate his two sons with modern education. On the fateful night, Gulam Mujtuba came to his native from his college hostel of Narsinghapur College where he is taking a course on Engineering. At the time of the incident, he along with his friends from the said village was chatting at the vicinity of Mr. Badal's shop at Majherdiar village. All of a sudden Mr. Nilanjan Roy; the Sub Inspector of Raninagar police station along with the said police constables came at the scene and pounced and shoved Gulam Mujtuba and his friends towards their parked vehicle. The police personnel not showed any reason for arrest at that time. The personnel physically tortured the unaware youths while they were apprehended. Mr. Sahaban Ali and other villagers of Majhardiar village witnessed the incident.

 

Later, the youths were brought to Raninagar police station at about 8.30 pm. In the police lock up, the youths were denied to put their warm clothes and physically and mentally tortured. They not even provided food to the youths at the police lock up. The police was reportedly trying to extract confessions regarding a scuffle; which broke a few days back at adjoining village of Danrakaci under Raninagar police station but the youths have no involvement with that. During their forced stay at the police station, the youths were denied food and water. At the dead night at 1.00 am of 4.03.2012, the youths were almost driven out from the police station while the police personnel obtained their signatures on blank papers. The youths were forced to spend that night at open and in wee hours returned to their respective homes.

 

Gulam Mujtuba visited a doctor at Sekhpara village at 7 am of 4.03.2012 and the doctor opined for severe mental and physical torture. The families of victim youths did not made any complaints to police regarding the illegal detention, arrest and torture, out of utmost fear from local police in first hand but later the father of Gulam Mujtuba after gathering enough courage on 9.4.2012 made a complaint to the Superintendent of Police; Murshidabad and a copy of that complaint was sent to the Chairman West Bengal Human Rights Commission. Till date no appropriate measures have taken against the errant police personnel.    

--
Kirity Roy
Secretary
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM)
&
National Convenor (PACTI)
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity
40A, Barabagan Lane (4th Floor)
Balaji Place
Shibtala
Srirampur
Hooghly
PIN- 712203
Tele-Fax - +91-33-26220843
Phone- +91-33-26220844 / 0845
e. mail : kirityroy@gmail.com
Web: www.masum.org.in