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Broken System Broken System Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police Copyright © 2009 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-518-0 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org August 2009 1-56432-518-0 Broken System Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police Glossary and Abbreviations ................................................................................................ 1 Rank Structure of the Indian Police ..................................................................................... 2 Map of India ....................................................................................................................... 3 I. Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 The Indian Police: A Dangerous State of Disrepair ............................................................ 7 Political Interference and Stalled Efforts at Reform ......................................................... 8 Human Rights Violations by Police ................................................................................. 9 Failure to Register Complaints and Investigate Crime ................................................ 9 Illegal Arrest and Detention, Police Torture and Ill-Treatment .................................... 9 Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings ............................................................................ 11 Obstacles to Police Accountability ................................................................................. 12 Key Recommendations .................................................................................................. 13 Methods and Scope ...................................................................................................... 16 II. The Deteriorating State of the Indian Police .................................................................. 18 Colonial Legacies and the Failure to Modernize ............................................................. 19 A Dangerous State of Disrepair ...................................................................................... 21 Poor Infrastructure ................................................................................................... 21 Inefficient Deployment of Personnel ....................................................................... 26 Inadequate Training of Personnel ............................................................................ 31 Police Living Conditions ......................................................................................... 34 Political Interference and Stalled Efforts at Reform ........................................................ 35 III. Human Rights Violations by Police ...............................................................................41 Failures in Crime Registration and Investigation ............................................................ 41 Legal Obligations to Investigate Crime .................................................................... 43 Failure to Register Crimes ........................................................................................ 45 Discriminatory Refusal to Register and Investigate Crimes ....................................... 47 Arrests on False Charges and Detention without Process ............................................... 57 Arrest and Detention under International and Domestic Law ................................... 58 Arrest and Detention Based on False Charges ......................................................... 59 Denial of Process in Arrest and Detention ............................................................... 64 Torture and Other Mistreatment .................................................................................... 67 Types of Torture and Ill-Treatment ........................................................................... 68 Vulnerability of Marginalized Groups to Torture and Ill-Treatment ............................ 71 Torture as a Crime Investigation “Tactic” ................................................................. 81 Torture and Ill-Treatment to Punish Perpetrators of Crime ....................................... 85 Extrajudicial Killings by Police ...................................................................................... 86 Killings for which Police Deny Responsibility .......................................................... 87 “Fake Encounter” Killings ........................................................................................ 91 IV. Obstacles to Police Accountability ............................................................................. 100 Prosecutions of Police ................................................................................................. 102 National and State Human Rights Commissions .......................................................... 103 V. Detailed Recommendations ......................................................................................... 107 To the Union Home Ministry, Union Territory Police, State Home Ministries, and State Police .......................................................................................................................... 107 Reduce human rights violations ............................................................................ 107 End Impunity for Police Abuse and Misconduct ...................................................... 111 Build a Professional, Rights-Respecting Police ...................................................... 113 To the Indian Police Service ......................................................................................... 115 To the Indian Parliament .............................................................................................. 115 To the National Human Rights Commission ................................................................. 116 To State Human Rights Commissions........................................................................... 117 To Concerned Foreign Governments and Donors .......................................................... 117 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 118 Glossary and Abbreviations Bandobast Literally “discipline,” refers to police duties such as patrolling events and security work chowki Police structure designated as an outpost Circle Officer Officer in charge of a police circle, which consists of a few police stations Daily Diary Record police must keep under Police Act of 1861 that includes information regarding complainants, charges, persons arrested, property police take into possession, and witnesses police examine Dalit Literally “broken people,” a term for so-called “untouchables” who traditionally occupied the lowest place in the Hindu caste system DGP Director General of Police, the highest-ranking police official of each state police organization FIR First Information Report, the recorded complaint of a crime filed by police hijra male-to-female transgender individuals, typically working-class IPS Indian Police Service, the cadre of senior police administered by the central government lathi Literally “stick,” the long baton-type weapon carried by most police munshi Literally “the writer,” a police officer who maintains records NHRC National Human Rights Commission pradhan Village official SP Superintendent of Police, in charge of a police district SHRC State Human Rights Commission SI Sub-inspector SHO Station house officer SO Station officer, the same as a station house officer thana Police station 1 Human Rights Watch | August 2009 Rank Structure of the Indian Police Broken System 2 Map of India © 2009 Human Rights Watch 3 Human Rights Watch | August 2009 I. Summary “This week, I was told to do an ‘encounter,’” a police officer we will call Officer Singh told Human Rights Watch in January 2009. He was referring to the practice of taking into custody and extrajudicially executing an individual, then claiming that the victim died after initiating a shoot-out with police. “I am looking for my target,” he said. “I will eliminate him.” Working in Uttar Pradesh, Officer Singh is the kind of police officer who should be in prison for misusing his authority. Instead he is protected by his superiors. It is in this way that impunity continues to thrive in India—and the reputation of the police continues to slide. But as we spoke to Officer Singh, we heard about other aspects of the reality of policing in India. Officer Singh said he had hardly a day off since he began working as a sub-inspector, or investigating
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