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“Bound by Brotherhood” India’S Failure to End Killings in Police Custody WATCH

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“Bound by Brotherhood” India’S Failure to End Killings in Police Custody WATCH HUMAN RIGHTS “Bound by Brotherhood” India’s Failure to End Killings in Police Custody WATCH “Bound by Brotherhood” India’s Failure to End Killings in Police Custody Copyright © 2016 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-34334 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org DECEMBER 2016 ISBN: 978-1-6231-34334 “Bound by Brotherhood” India’s Failure to End Killings in Police Custody Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Police Failure to Follow Proper Arrest Procedures ...................................................................... 3 Failure to Hold Police Accountable for Custodial Deaths ............................................................4 Intimidation of Victims’ Families and Witnesses ....................................................................... 6 Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 8 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 9 I. Right to Life and Liberty in India ..................................................................................... 11 Persistence of Custodial Torture and Ill-Treatment ................................................................... 14 Legal Safeguards Against Custodial Violence .......................................................................... 15 National and State Human Rights Institutions ......................................................................... 18 Lack of Police Reformsp ......................................................................................................... 20 A Law to Prevent Torture ......................................................................................................... 23 II. Unlawful Arrest and Detention ...................................................................................... 24 Failure to Abide by Arrest Rules ............................................................................................... 24 Failure to Inform Family Members of Arrest and Enforced Disappearances ............................... 38 Failure to Produce Suspects Before a Magistrate ..................................................................... 47 Failings by Magistrates ........................................................................................................... 52 Lack of Adequate Medical Care ............................................................................................... 53 III. Lack of Accountability ................................................................................................. 62 Police Impunity ...................................................................................................................... 62 Alleged Complicity of Medical Authorities in Cover-Ups .......................................................... 92 Intimidation of Victims’ Families and Witnesses Seeking Accountability ................................. 96 The Role of the NHRC and State Human Rights Commissions in Pursuing Accountability ........ 103 IV. Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 106 To the Indian Parliament ....................................................................................................... 106 To the Union Home Ministry, Union Territory Police, State Home Ministries, and State Police . 107 To the National Human Rights Commission ............................................................................ 111 To State Human Rights Commissions .................................................................................... 112 To Legal Service Authorities .................................................................................................. 112 To Foreign Governments and Donors ......................................................................................113 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... 114 Appendix I: Sample Right to Information Letters .............................................................. 115 Appendix II: Table of Right to Information Responses ..................................................... 120 Summary This is what I have to say about the wounds on the body of the said accused. Since he was a hard core criminal, he refused to give any information. It was essential to get that information from him, that’s why [the police] used the “truth seeking” belt and beat him up in front of me. He was so weak after the beating that when he got up to drink water, he was dizzy with pain and collapsed against the window, breaking his lower jaw. –Police constable testifying in Julfar Shaikh’s custodial death investigation, Mumbai, March 2013 The entire investigation conducted by the state investigating agency appears to be a desperate effort in damage control so as to ensure that no embarrassment is caused to the higher police functionary. –Pratim Kumar Singha Ray v. Union of India and Ors., Calcutta High Court on a case of death in police custody, May 2013 Deaths of criminal suspects in custody occurs too often in India. In response to this longstanding problem, Indian authorities including the courts and the National Human Rights Commission have set out detailed procedures to prevent and punish police use of torture and ill-treatment. However, Indian police still often torture suspects to punish them, gather information, or coerce confessions. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, between 2010 and 2015, 591 people died in police custody. Police blame most of the deaths on suicide, illness, or natural causes. For instance, of the 97 custody deaths reported by Indian authorities in 2015, police records list only 6 as due to physical assault by police; 34 are listed as suicides, 11 as deaths due to illness, 9 as natural deaths, and 12 as deaths during hospitalization or treatment. However, in many such cases, family members allege that the deaths were the result of torture. While investigations were ordered by courts, human rights commissions, or other authorities in some cases, Human Rights Watch is not aware of a single case in which a police official was convicted for a custodial death between 2010 and 2015. Four policemen in Mumbai were convicted in 2016 for the custodial death of a 20-year-old suspect in 2013. 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2016 This report examines the reasons for the continuing impunity for custodial deaths in India, and recommends steps that authorities can and should take to end it. It details the scope of the problem drawing on in-depth Human Rights Watch investigations into 17 custodial deaths that occurred between 2009 and 2015, research by Indian organizations, and more than 70 Human Rights Watch interviews with victims’ family members, witnesses, justice experts, and police officials. Ultimately, police abuse reflects a failure by India’s central government and state governments to implement accountability mechanisms. Despite strict guidelines, the authorities routinely fail to conduct rigorous investigations and prosecute police officials implicated in torture and ill-treatment of arrested persons. Police investigators often close cases relying solely on the accounts of the implicated police officers. Maja Daruwala, executive director of the New Delhi-based rights organization Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, which has long campaigned for police reform, said that even though police deny that they engage in cover-ups to protect officers who commit abuse, there are serious gaps in both accountability and supervision: “The police as an organization has to decide whether shielding bad policing, illegal policing, and what amounts to murder is of value to their efficiency.” Most cases detailed in this report involve family members who sought a judicial remedy with assistance from lawyers or rights defenders, in which police records, medical records, and other relevant documents are thus publicly available. Many of the cases are still pending in courts. A number of independent investigations ordered by courts have uncovered serious due process violations, in addition to compelling evidence of physical mistreatment. In each of the 17 cases, the police did not follow proper arrest procedures—including documenting the arrest, notifying family members, conducting medical examinations, or producing the suspect before a magistrate within 24 hours—which made the suspect more vulnerable to abuse and may have contributed to a belief by police that any mistreatment could
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