600 died in Indian police custody, group says

Activists cite government data over six-year period

NEW DELHI // About 600 people died in Indian police custody from 2009 to last year, many of them after being tortured, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday.

The rights group urged India to enforce often-ignored regulations and prosecute officers who mistreat prisoners.

It said police regularly disregarded arrest procedures and tortured detained people to death. The police often blamed such deaths on suicide or illness.

Although torture is illegal in the country, many Indian police have been open about extracting confessions or details about crimes by applying the “third degree” – a euphemism that can encompass anything from a couple of slaps to a beating.

“Until you use third degree against them, they will not speak,” said Jairaj Sharma, a retired police officer in Uttar Pradesh state.

Citing government data, the report said 97 people died in police custody last year. In 67 of those cases, the suspects died within 24 hours of their arrest or authorities failed to take the suspects before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, as required by law. India’s home ministry did not reply to a request for comment yesterday.

HRW said strict enforcement was needed of existing arrest guidelines, such as informing the families of those arrested, providing medical examinations and quickly producing suspects before magistrates. It demanded that policemen who engaged in torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners be disciplined and prosecuted.

Police officers would only learn that beating suspects is unacceptable when some are prosecuted, said Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW’s South Asia director.

“Our research shows that too often, the police officers investigating deaths in custody are more concerned about shielding their colleagues than bringing those responsible to justice,” she said.

Vikram Singh, a top retired police officer, acknowledged that the criminal justice system was riddled with problems, from desperately overcrowded jails to suspects sometimes being held for years as cases are investigated. He said policemen had little concern about being punished if they beat a suspect.

“My feeling is that not many cases [against police] have been registered, not many police officers suspended, and certainly no one has been dismissed in recent years for being brutal to accused and wanted criminals,” Mr Singh said. HRW focused on 17 of the reported deaths, conducting more than 70 interviews with witnesses, victims’ families, justice experts and police officials.