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[R.M. Pal]
In the infamous case of unceremonious cremations of a very large number of innocent people killed by the Punjab police, the National Human Rights Commission has ordered the Punjab Government to pay a compensation of Rs. 2.5 lac to the next of kin of a man who died in police custody in 1992 during its anti-terror drive, thus rejecting the administration’s claim that this was not a custodial death. Paramjit Singh was one of the victims of the secret mass unceremonious cremations in Punjab.
One hopes that law enforcement agencies in India will not resort to such methods of killing people in the name of putting a stop to terrorism. There were reports in the press of the killing of students in police firing in Meghalaya on 30th Sept., 2005. It was reported that at least 11 students were killed and nearly 90 wounded when police opened fire to
quell thousands of student protestors who took to the streets in Tura and William Nagar
districts of Meghalaya. There were also reports in the press of torture inflicted on children in Haryana. It was alleged one of the boys, 12 years old Mukesh, a resident of a Jhuggi colony, was beaten and even shown hanging from a tree with both his hands tied. It was also reported that earlier the police even torched two other children. The silver line in such matters is that the NHRC has taken note of press reports and asked the state government to submit its report in this matter of human rights violation. The commission sent the press reports and copies of transcripts of TV channel. [Sourse: NHRC – Human Rights Newsletter, Nov., 2005]
If human rights groups and activists take up such violations of human rights with the NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions the situation is likely to improve. Societal violation of human rights can never be eliminated without the civil society taking an active interest and pressurizing the Human Rights Commission. It is encouraging to note that in the recent past the National Human Rights Commission brought out reports on communal riots in Gujarat and torture inflicted on Dalits in India.
Such violations have not been uncommon in India. The Home Ministry in cooperation with experienced, retired police officers, well-known human rights activists and jurists like Mr. Fali Nariman and Mr. Soli Sorabjee and retired judges, should have discerned various types of human rights violations apart from state violations in brain-storming sessions before setting up the National and State Human Rights Commissions.
Recently a man named Om Prakash was released from the Mainpuri jail in U.P. after 37 years of imprisonment without any trial after the intervention of the court. He was arrested on charges of murder. His father, in order to save his young son from the arrest [Om Prakash was less than 20 years old at the time of his arrest], took upon himself the responsibility of the crime and confessed to have committed the murder. But both were arrested and the father died in the jail after a few years. Had the trial taken place and Om Prakash even proved guilty of murder and awarded the maximum punishment of life imprisonment, he would have come out of jail a quarter of a century ago. But during the last 37 years the trial did not even begin. The reason why the trial could not take place is that the police could not trace the papers of the case. And for this serious lapse on the part of the police, no action was taken against any police official. However, Om Prakash languished in jail without trial for 37 long years and has come out of jail now, an insane
man because his long confinement had turned him insane long ago, and today he does not
know who he is. Of course, there is no question of his recognizing his 80 years old mother, who was still happy to receive back her son in whatever condition he is now, a victim of state apathy pure and simple.
Raja Ram, aged 70, who spent 35 years in Faizabad jail and Varanasi mental hospital without being proved guilty was freed earlier on a personal bond. But his freedom was short-lived as he could not trace his home in Torabganj in Gonda district.. The SI of the police station, Torabganj, says that his village does not exist. His village is not on the map of the area. The Police Inspector said Raja Ram could not locate his house. How could he, after 35 years’ absence from his house and that too coming back in an insane state of mind? One can be reasonably sure that even Raja Ram does not know why he was sent to jail? What crime did he commit? He told a newspaper man, “I am not a thief. The real thief ran away and the police arrested me,” as reported in The Hindustan Times.
In yet another case – source Supreme Court and reported in the same newspaper – 70 year old Jagjivan Ram languished in prison for 36 years because his records were missing.
These few instances indicate that if there is thorough investigation across the country in different jails, there would be many more under-trial prisoners languishing in jails without being convicted. There are human rights norms which demand urgent action from Human Rights Commissions and NGOs and activists. And yet one hears very little about such human rights violations being discovered, reported and compensated for.