“Reducing Police Torture against
Muslims at Grass Roots Level by Engaging and Strengthening Human Rights
Institutions in India”: Observations
-
Sunil
Kuksal
Working on a subject like Torture and Human
Rights is a challenging task for any researcher or a student of social science
especially in a country like India where torture is still a daily reality and
its practice is systematic. Torture has not been criminalized in the Indian
domestic law and impunity for alleged torturers is considered as a key factor
in the failure to prevent torture. As the largest democracy in the world, the
Indian government does not even acknowledge the existence of the practice of
torture by the police and other security agencies. The fact is that India has
not ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) but has signed the Convention on
October 1997 which requires India to take steps to ensure that its domestic
legislation complies with CAT’s requirements.
I
was associated as a Research fellow with the project on “Reducing police
Torture against Muslims at Grass Roots Level by Engaging and Strengthening
Human Rights Institutions in India” by People Vigilance Committee on Human
Rights (PVCHR), Varanasi. PVCHR has taken this exemplary task to raise voice
against the practice of police torture by highlighting the cases of torture against
the minority Muslims in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Working in the project
operational areas the experience brings out the fact that in a caste driven
social and economic structure of Indian society there is a deep rooted
perceptions about Muslim community as being inferior category in the given
caste hierarchy. They are viewed below the status of the most deprived lower
castes or untouchables. Muslims as a community is treated as second class
citizens. This perception has helped in
justifying the acts of torture and other degrading treatment with greater acceptance
to the use of torture against the Muslim community. Moreover after the 9/11
incidents, the taint of “terrorism” has been wildly attached to all Muslims and
they are being subjected to all sorts of victimisation and harassment under the
draconian anti-terrorist laws by the security agencies including arbitrary
arrest, detention and torture. Therefore atrocities against Muslims in this
context are not acts committed in isolation but they are the results of an
institutional mechanism affecting the Indian criminal justice system. As a
researcher I believe that in a human rights perspective, a systematic inquiry
and assessment of the incidences of gross human rights violations suffered by
the minority Muslim community in various parts of India becomes the most
relevant in the context of democratic governance.
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human
Rights, Varanasi (PVCHR) in collaboration with Human Rights Law Network, New
Delhi with the support of European Union has been jointly implementing the project
on “Reducing
police Torture against Muslims at Grass Roots Level by Engaging and
Strengthening Human Rights Institutions in India”. This torture
prevention project is being implemented in the four districts of Uttar Pradesh
namely; Aligarh, Meerut, Moradabad and Varanasi. Though initially there were
many practical difficulties in addressing the main project commitments. Most
importantly in a Hindu dominated state it was difficult to convince even the project
team members with the idea to empower human rights defenders from the Muslim
community itself and create an awareness about minority rights and strengthen their
‘claim’ for justice. Torture occurs in secrecy behind the closed doors and
reliable figures of its occurrences are not available. Therefore, it was a big
challenge to plan and implement anti torture activities and preventive
mechanism in the project operational areas.
During the
course of implementation of programme, it has been realized that In India the
poorest members of the religious minorities have been the targets of all kinds
of discriminations, torture, cruel and degrading treatment. Muslim minority has
been no exception as far as social prejudices are concerned. Discrimination has
taken institutional form and its manifestation can be seen in the working of
crucial constitutional institutions of public importance like police and
judiciary. Religious bias against Muslims has been found all pervasive in legal
institutions and governing structure. Moreover they have historically been
placed at a disadvantageous position socially as well as economically. Under
the project, consistent efforts are being made to explore and analyze the
linkages between economic, social and cultural rights of Muslim minority and
violence. In another words, instead of approaching the problem of torture in a
purely legalistic manner in terms of looking at non-compliance with or non-
enforcement of legal provisions regarding life and liberty of citizens, social
and cultural norms and practices forming the basis of torture are also
examined. Under the project torture intervention activities are carried out in
a systematic manner with well-planned action oriented approach which is
facilitated by building community capacity by promoting a strong cadre of Human
Rights Defenders in operational areas, trained human right workers team to
carry out fact finding operations, focus group discussion on existing laws
related to arrest and detention, legal interventions to obtain redress,
propagating testimonial therapy methods to help restore confidence and dignity
of torture survivors, Human Rights Street Movement and Media Advocacy in the
operational project areas or districts. The project facilitation helped in
increasing the use of different means of Information and communication technology
(ICT) for advocacy of cases related to torture.
Under the
project around 2400 human rights workers have been provided trainings on
existing laws related to arrest, detention, individual liberties and rights enshrined
under the constitution of India. Under the project selected cases are documented from persons
belonging to minority Muslim community who have been the victims of arbitrary
or illegal detention, arrested and tortured by the police in these four
districts of Uttar Pradesh. Cases are documented on the basis of fact finding missions
and efforts are made to get justice for the survivors. Creation of
data base and case studies is being used intensely for the purpose of advocacy.
Case documentation has helped in making strategies for further action and to
address the root causes of torture. The impact of strategic interventions
varies from case to case which are dependent on various factors such as the
responsiveness of the state institutions in question and the degree to which
they are sensitive to the issue of torture
and other degrading treatment towards minorities. Complaints letter for
urgent action are issued to competent state police authorities and Human Rights
Institutions who have a direct responsibility. Till today at least 900 cases of
the torture survivors from Muslim community have been taken for legal action
and support in courts as well as in various commissions. The cases are also presented to various
commissions, administration, Chief Minister, Home Ministry and Prime Minister.
Besides that
the Human Rights Defenders trained during the project implementation period
along with the community members have been trying to use innovative ways to
empower the most vulnerable sections of the Muslim community. Most importantly
actions are being focused to develop a mechanism to increase the participation
of the Muslim minority to influence the decision making process which is the
most essential tool not only to empower the community but also to strengthen
the democratic values and governance.
Regular
follow-ups on these intervention activities are done to seek remedial action,
monitor progress and, if necessary, to renew the demands. This has been
effective in engaging and strengthening the justice delivery system of Human
Rights Institutions such as National Human Rights Commission, National
Commission for Minorities and State Human Rights Commissions. In many cases the survivors have also
received relief and rehabilitation. Under the programme victims of police
excesses are also provided legal assistance to represent their cases in the
courts and obtain redress. With the consistent efforts of PVCHR
in pleading the cases of human rights violations of Muslim minority, the
National Human Rights Commission has been giving due consideration to these
cases and in many cases, orders are being passed for quick action.
After a careful
analysis of total 806 cases after the completion of fact finding exercises from
January 2011 to April 2013 by the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, it has been
observed and testified by the survivors that many of them were subjected to
torture just because they belonged to the minority Muslim community. Most of
these cases relate to rape, police torture, custodial deaths, extra judicial
killings, police encounters, sexual harassment and communal riots. One sided
action by the police administration can be clearly marked in all these cases. It
has been observed that in all the cases pertaining to communal riots, many
innocent persons have been found to be implicated in false cases. In many
instances false cases have been lodged on people who have never lived in the
areas affected by rioting. Cases have been filed against 12 year old young boy
to 80 year old persons. Even disabled persons have not been spared and found to
have suffered police brutalities. It has come to light that whenever police
enters the Muslim localities to investigate or arrest someone, they create a
reign of terror in the whole area and misbehaviour with women has been a common
practice. Police deliberately uses the language which is directed at a
particular community.
In Uttar Pradesh it has been found quite surprisingly that
police have devised new ways to oppress minority Muslims. One example of the
new method is red cards which are issued officially to declare Muslim youth as
proclaimed criminals. Muslim community persons playing a leading role at the
regional level are harassed by the police on one pretext or the other. They are
implicated in false cases and investigation and arrest are done with immediate
effect. They are shown as anti-social elements in police reports as a result
they face many difficulties in getting bails. So far around
80 human rights workers have been booked under various false charges. They are
harassed again and again.
To ensure
dignity and justice to Muslim minority in the state Independent People’s
Tribunal was jointly organized in Varanasi in April 2013 by the People’s
Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and Human Rights Law Network
(HRLN). This action programme was an attempt to identify and understand the
patterns, its practices and the participants in the process of continued
violation of human rights and discrimination against and torture of Muslim
community members at the hands of state agencies like police. It was a
democratic exercise with the sole objective to restore human dignity to those
who suffered. It was also aimed to bring out the different dimensions of social
and psychological effects on the survivors, their families and the community as
a result of the practice of tortuous behavior.
As part of the
organizing committee, our main task was to select the cases of torture
survivors and prepare the documents. It was an open public event where victims
of police torture or ill treatment were invited to participate and testify. Out
of the total cases documented around 40 cases of victims were presented before
the jury members. These were the representative cases which reflected a reality
much bigger than seen. In these cases a certain pattern was clearly visible as
far as issue of justice to minority Muslim was concerned. As majority of the survivors
came from the poorest section of society and being Muslims they had been
subjected to inhuman treatment resulting from long-held biases towards them by
the civil and police administration. Written testimonies of the survivors and their
family members were made available to the jury members in advance. Survivors shared
their experiences in dealing with state police administration in seeking
justice. Family members of the survivors also gave oral testimonies confirming
their statements. It was observed that in many cases FIR was lodged but no
action was taken by the police. In some cases, it was found that police
authorities had avoided registering the cases. In many cases it was found that
when victims tried to take the help of police to seek justice, instead of
giving due consideration to their grievances they were falsely implicated by
the police and their harassment by the police authorities continued. It was
also revealed that it is not only the accused that is victimized but even the
petitioners and complainants are subjected to cruel, inhuman and ill treatment.
Moreover all the cases deposed before
the jury, had already been submitted by the victims to various state
authorities and institutions like Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Director
General of Police (DGP), Minority Commission, Women’s Commission and National
Human Rights Commission for redress. The jury made their recommendations to
devise means to put a check on the practice of torture, inhuman and ill
treatments of innocents when they approach police or when they are in police
custody. A report was prepared and sent to the Chief Minister, political
parties and other legislators to assess the situation for further action. The most
memorable and perhaps I would say, socially and politically most relevant event
was a “Street March” or Human Rights Street Movement that was taken out in
Varanasi after the Tribunal in which around 100 people took part including
torture survivors from Uttar Pradesh, human rights defenders and community
workers. It was a non-violent expression of outrage against human rights abuses
to generate awareness among people against virtual impunity that the government
and security agencies enjoy. The
participants were carrying the placards and shouting slogans against the state
police administration in dealing with Muslim minority.
In my view the
sustained efforts of the organization with its intervention strategies have
helped in increasing the understanding level of general public, civil society
groups, political parties and the government on the issues related to torture
and state biases towards Muslims which is being seen as a suspect community in
recent years. PVCH and HRLN have been jointly working to forge communal harmony
between majority Hindus and Muslim communities and putting their efforts to
preserve and promote the composite culture in Uttar Pradesh. It was seen during
the mob attacks and communal riots targeted at minority community in Tanda
block of Uttar Pradesh in March 2013 when members of both the Hindu Muslim
communities together came forwards to provide relief and rehabilitation to the
affected members and families immediately after the incident. Similarly after
the communal flare up in Narpatpur in Varanasi in 2012, many innocent Muslims
were beaten and arrested by the police. They were booked under various false
charges. After a sustained campaign to get justice for the innocent victims and
continued intervention by the PVCHR, most of these victims are released now. PVCHR
has been engaged its efforts at multiple level of interventions, like at the
level of administration, different human rights institutions, district courts
and high court. There have been positive results from the intervention
activities. Experiences from the field areas in rural villages of Uttar Pradesh
indicate that torture awareness has been increasing among grass roots
communities. The organization has also been providing financial and mental
support to the survivors of the police atrocities so that they can regain
dignity and lead a peaceful life.
A team of PVCHR
was invited by the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh for an interface
meeting with the police related to project areas of Aligarh, Meerut, Moradabad
and Varanasi. Uttar Pradesh police readily agreed to hold such regular meetings
that would help in rekindling people’s faith in police system and establishing
rule of law. The efforts of PVCHR also brought
relief to the victims when 8 member delegation of the PVCHR under Dr. Lenin
Raghuvanshi was invited by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mr. Akhilesh
Yadav to hold deliberations on the issues of riot victims, electricity and debt
facilities for the Muslim weaving community of Uttar Pradesh. The state
administration was also given the cases of 40 victims of police torture from
Uttar Pradesh for further action and speedy justice. In June 2013 the National
Commission of Minorities, New Delhi in a letter addressed to President PVCHR
has recognized the role of the organization at the grass root level for the
marginalized group of the society including women, children, Dalits and tribes
and its efforts in raising the voices against the human rights violations in
Uttar Pradesh.
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