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Custodial deaths a blot on khaki

THE spate of encounters in recent months in Uttar Pradesh has drawn the ire of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has stated that the police were misusing their power in the light of “an undeclared endorsement given by the higher-ups”.

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MP Nathanael
Former IG, CRPF

THE spate of encounters in recent months in Uttar Pradesh has drawn the ire of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has stated that the police were misusing their power in the light of “an undeclared endorsement given by the higher-ups”. 

During a 10-month period, 34 criminals were gunned down in 1,142 encounters in the state. Sixteen of these encounters took place in just two days recently in which two criminals were shot dead and over two dozen were arrested. Four policemen were martyred and 220 injured in these encounters. 

Sreejeev, a student, was arrested in Thiruvananthpuram by the Parassala police on May 19, 2014, for having stolen a mobile phone. The next day, he was admitted to a hospital, where he died on May 21. According to the police, he consumed poison in his cell, while Sreejith, his brother, maintains that the police slapped a false case and arrested him for being in relationship with a girl related to a policeman. Sreejith went on a hunger strike for 782 days, demanding a CBI probe into Sreejeev’s death. He called off his strike only after the CBI began an investigation on January 31.

In another case, Deepak (19) died in police custody in Karawal Nagar on January 16 this year. He was arrested a day earlier on the charge of molesting a 17-year-old girl in July last year. While the police maintain that he had hanged himself with a scarf in the police station, the family alleges that he was murdered and that he had no scarf on him. While the SHO was sent to the Police Lines, four other policemen were placed under suspension.

There was an uproar in Himachal Pradesh last year over the gangrape and killing of a teenaged student at Kotkhai. Among the six suspects was a Nepalese national, Suraj Singh, who died in police custody under mysterious circumstances. The case was then transferred to the CBI for further investigation, not just of the rape and murder but also of the custodial death. The CBI swung into action and arrested IG ZH Zaidi, who was heading the Special Investigation Team, and seven other policemen for their suspected role in the custodial death. A former SP was arrested in November. The CBI probe is on.

As many as 591 custodial deaths were recorded between 2010 and 2015. While 118 were registered in 2013, a slight decline was noticed in 2014 and 2015, with the figures being 93 and 97, respectively. The death toll in police custody in 2016 was 92, according to the statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Of these, 25 cases were registered against 24 cops for death in custody; none has been convicted so far. Sixteen suspects died in police custody in Maharashtra, while 11 each died in Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

Deaths in custody occur largely due to torture by third-degree methods to extract a confession from the accused in the shortest possible time. Little thought is given to the consequences of the torture. There could be several custodial deaths that go unreported. It is due to the concerted efforts of the relatives or friends of the deceased that cases get registered against erring  policemen. 

Interrogation is a highly skilled form of investigation and most policemen, despite training, are not equipped to carry it out deftly. In their eagerness to get quick results, they resort to unlawful methods. The lack of patience and technical skills drives them to adopt crude methods, which at times go awry, resulting in the death of the suspect.

The prospect of going scot-free after custodial deaths spurs policemen to throw legal requirements to the winds. The proclivity of the superiors and even politicians to shield them prevents action against them. Directives issued by the Supreme Court and the NHRC are set aside.

Custodial deaths, if not checked by stringent action against the delinquent policemen, are bound to increase. The responsibility devolves on the senior police officers and they need to devise methods to monitor the suspects in each police station and the reasons for their detention. Any detention or arrest should be promptly reported to the district superintendents, who should thereafter ensure that the laid-down guidelines and procedures are strictly adhered to. Why take action against junior policemen alone, when the senior police officials have been negligent in the performance of their duties? The Superintendents of Police, too, need to be sent to prison if they have connived with the erring policemen or been negligent in preventing custodial deaths.

Since there is a natural propensity for the state police to defend their own personnel when custodial deaths are investigated, the CBI becomes the preferred choice for a judicious and impartial investigation. The arrest of an IG and other police officials in the Kotkhai rape-murder case serves as a pointer to the fair investigation by the premier agency. 

Various human rights NGOs and the NHRC act as a watchdog in protecting the human rights of people in this country and are rendering yeoman service to the nation. The government needs to extend assistance to them. Policemen cannot be allowed to go scot-free after they have snuffed out the lives of people in custody.

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