SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2226confess to militant activity, to reveal information about suspected militants, or toinflict punishment for suspected support or sympathy with militants. Informationis not made public regarding instances of action taken against security force personnelin Jammu and Kashmir for acts of torture.In May the NHRC ordered the government of Jammu and Kashmir to pay $4,395(200,000 rupees) to the family of Ghulam Rasool, following its investigation intoRasool’s 1996 death while in police custody in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. Policearrested Rasool in Kathua on October 31, 1996. He was found dead in his cell thefollowing day. The autopsy showed that the cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrestarising from the dislocation of the spine. It also showed that Rasool had sufferedinjuries to his scalp, face, back, left eye, and both arms and legs. The NHRCconcluded that police had tortured Rasool to death. It further directed the Jammuand Kashmir government to initiate legal proceedings against the police officials responsible.Human rights monitors maintain that there is a similar pattern of securityforce abuses in the northeastern states. On July 28, members of the Assam Riflesarrested Khuraijam Pranam of Bishenpur, Manipur and allegedly tortured himfor 2 days before turning him over to local police. Pranam survived and underwenttreatment in Imphal Hospital. On August 18, the Guwahati High Court directed theManipur government to ensure that Pranam was not harmed in the hospital, andto allow family members to visit him. Police abuses against indigenous people includetorture (see Section 5).The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture noted in 1997 that methods of tortureincluded beating, rape, crushing the leg muscles with a wooden roller, burning withheated objects, and electric shocks. Because many alleged torture victims die in custody,and others are afraid to speak out, there are few firsthand accounts, althoughmarks of torture often have been found on the bodies of deceased detainees. TheU.N. Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on Extrajudicial Killings renewed their requeststo visit the country during the year, but the Government did not permit themto do so (see Section 4).The prevalence of torture by police in detention facilities throughout the countryis supported by the number of cases of deaths in police custody (see Section 1.a.).Delhi’s Tihar jail is notorious for the mistreatment of prisoners, with 1 of every 11custodial deaths occurring there. Police and jailers typically assault new prisonersfor money and personal articles. In addition police commonly torture detainees duringcustodial interrogation. Although police officers are subject to prosecution forsuch offenses under Section 302 of the Penal Code, the Government often fails tohold them accountable. On April 20, police in Gujarat allegedly beat to death ColonelPratap Save in a local police station (see Section 1.a.). The PUCL reported thatpolice tortured to death Sudath Kumar in Moodabidri police station, Karnataka, onMay 30 to 31 (see Section 1.a.). Human rights groups allege that police in AndhraPradesh tortured and then hanged an unarmed suspected Naxalite, Chandraiah, onJune 10 (see Section 1.a.). On August 4, Krishna Pada Seal died, just after he andhis family were released from prison; according to the PUCL, prison officials torturedthem during detention (see Section 1.a.). The PUCL alleged that police inMangalore district, Karnataka, were responsible for the August 29 custodial deathof Sudath Kumar Jain, a 40yearold local film projectionist who died in a hospitalafter sustaining injuries (see Section 1.a.). During the year, Amnesty Internationalexpressed concern about the September 1999 torture death of 21-year-old DevinderSingh (see Section 1.a.).The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture stated in 1997 that, in Jammu and Kashmir,torture victims or their relatives reportedly have had difficulty in filing complaintsbecause local police were issued instructions not to open a case without permissionfrom higher authorities. In addition the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir)Special Powers Act provides that unless approval is obtained from the centralGovernment, no ‘‘prosecution, suit, or other legal proceeding shall be instituted . . .against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exerciseof the powers of the act.’’ This provision allows the security forces to act with virtualimpunity.There also were incidents in which police beat journalists (see Section 2.a.), demonstrators(see Section 2.b.), and Muslim students (see Section 2.c.). Police also committedabuses against tribal people (see Section 5).The rape of persons in custody is part of the broader pattern of custodial abuse.Limits placed on the arrest, search, and police custody of women appear effectivelyto limit the frequency of rape in custody, although it does occur on occasion. Accordingto HRW, in February in Tamil Nadu, 12 women were detained illegally, tortured,and repeatedly sexually assaulted in custody, because of their ties to a suspectedrobber who had himself died in police custody. In addition to the 12 women,police detained and beat the young sons of suspected robbers, according to a localVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1