EntriesIndia: Fear of extrajudicial killing/ Forced disappearance
India: Two students abducted and disappeared in Andhra Pradesh
Week of the disappeared: Tears yet to dry for family members
Agosto 13, 2007
India: Fear of extrajudicial killing/ Forced disappearance
Case IND 100807
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and by Antenna International, a member the SOS-Torture network, of the fear of extrajudicial killing of Mr. Santosh Mondal (40 years old), resident of Shibpur P.O Border Para P.S Raninagar, District Murshidabad, by personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) on 27 July 2007 near Shibpur.According to the information received, on 27 July 2007 at around 6:30pm, three BSF personnel attached to the 90 BN BSF ECO Company, Harudanga, started randomly interrogating villagers, namely Mr. Uttam Mondal, Mr. Krishno Mondal, Mr. Tulsi Mondal, Mr. Sunil Mondal and Mr. Santosh Mondal, who were outdoors on the bank of the river Padma. However, the security forces, reportedly not being satisfied with their answers, have allegedly assaulted the villagers with sticks. While four of the villagers managed to escape, Mr. Santosh Mondal was not able to get away so he jumped into the river Padma. The BSF reportedly got back to Harudanga BSF camp, which is according to the information approximately 300 meters away, to take a speed boat in order to catch him.
According to the information, when the BSF detected with powerful torches Mr. Santosh Mondal swimming in the water, they reportedly drove near by him. However, instead of taking him out of the water, they then reportedly drove with high speed targeting him. A loud sound was reportedly heard and the propeller of the boat broke down.
According to the same information, Mr. Santosh Mondal did not come home that night and his body could not be traced. A relative of Mr. Santosh Mondal, Mr. Suresh Chandra Mondal of Harudanga lodged a complaint before the Officer-in- Charge (O/C) Raninagar P.S. on 29 July 2007. On the same day at around 6:00 pm, Mr. Purna Chandra Ghosh, Sub Inspector of Police attached to Raninagar Police Station, reportedly came to the village for investigation. According to the fact-finding mission, the 90 BN BSF ECO Company, Harudanga, sent a letter to Bangladesh Rifles (BRD) to recover the body of Mr. Santosh Mondal.
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern over the fear of extrajudicial killing of Mr. Santosh Mondal and the beatings suffered by the villagers by BSF personnel. OMCT wishes to recall that according to article 6 1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which India is a State Party “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life”. OMCT calls on the authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. Further, as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, India should guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. Locate the whereabouts of Mr. Santosh Mondal;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to the victim’s family;
iv. Ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standard.
Addresses
- Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857
- Shri Shivraj Patil, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979.
- Justice K. G. Balkrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, Tilak Marg, New Delhi -1, Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
- Justice Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, Tel: +91 11 230 74448, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
- Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen, Chairman, West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani Bhaban, Alipur, Kolkata - 27. Phone +91-33-24797727, 24791629, Fax - 24799633, Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in
- H.E. Mr. Swashpawan Singh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9, 1202 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 906 86 86, Fax: +41 22 906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int
- Mr. Dipak Chatterjee, Ambassador, Embassy of India in Brussels, 217 Chaussée de Vleurgat, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 (0)2 6489638 or +32 (0)2 6451869
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, 10 August 2007
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply
Junio 22, 2007
India: Two students abducted and disappeared in Andhra Pradesh
21 June 2007
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UA-200-2007: INDIA: Two students abducted and disappeared in Andhra PradeshINDIA: Disappearance; police atrocities; arbitrary detention; impunity
----------------------------------------Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner in Andhra Pradesh regarding the case of abduction and disappearance of two students. It is reported that the students were abducted on 5 March 2006 and since then their parents have not heard anything about them. The complaints made by the parents are ignored by the government.
CASE DETAILS:
Mr. Bandaaru Mallesh and Mr. Vadae Manohar were students at the Osmania University. They were arrested by the local police on the suspicion of being involved in the case of murder of Mr. Narsi Reddy. In fact Mallesh and Manohar were surrendered at the police station by their parents. They were detained in police custody for about 8 days without being produced before the court. The parents filed a Habeas Corpus writ for the police produce them in court. Even then the court did not release them on bail. They were however released on bail after four months.
The students were released on bail on 5 March 2006. But the night prior to the release the parents of the disappeared students were called to Muktal Police Station. At the police station they were threatened that they should not take their children out from the police as the police had not finished the investigation of the case. The parents were asked to withdraw the sureties they had organised to be produced in court the next day. The parents however refused, but the police threatened that if the children were released the police would kill them.
The next day, that is 5 March 2007, the students were released on bail from Narayana Pet court. The students with their parents were returning home in a three wheeler. As their vehicle reached the Ashoka movie house at Mahabubnagar, the three-wheeler was stopped by a few armed and masked men. They forced the three-wheeler to go to Christian Palli. In the meanwhile all of them were blindfolded and some of them were transferred into another vehicle. The parents were not aware whether the children were with them.
They traveled for a long time over the night and were let off by the roadside next day, early in the morning. When they removed the blindfold they found themselves to be near a forest. They also realised that their children were missing and not with them. They walked to Devarakonda Mandal in Nalgonda district.
It is alleged that the abduction was organised by the police and it is suspected that the missing students are now either killed as threatened by the police or kept in detention. The parents had approached the High Court seeking help with a petition on which the court has ordered the local police to investigate the case and report the progress of the investigation to the court every month. The parents allege that even after eight months there is no progress in the case.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the relevant authorities mentioned below, to ensure that the police investigate the case properly and the whereabouts of the children are revealed to the parents and the court at the earliest. The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances asking for an intervention into this case.Sample letter:
Dear ___________________
INDIA: Abduction and disappearance of two students in Andhra Pradesh
Name and address of the victims:
1. Mr. Vadae Manohar, son of Thimmanna, resident of Kalvala village, Narya Mandla, Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh
2. Mr. Bandaaru Mallesh, son of Ms. Anantamma, Maktal Mandal, Mahabubnagar district, Andhra PradeshAlleged perpetrators:
1. Police officers stationed at Muktal Police Station, Andhra Pradesh during March 2006I am writing to you to express my concern about the case of abduction and disappearance of two students of the Osmania University from Mahabubnagar. I am informed that the students, Mr. Vadae Manohar and Mr. Bandaaru Mallesh were surrendered by their parents at the Muktal Police Station by their parents in connection with the investigation into the murder case of Mr. Narsi Reddy.
It is alleged that the students were detained illegally in custody for the next eight days and that their parents had to file a writ petition for the police to produce the students in court. The court though refused bail to the students kept them in custody for about four months. Finally when the court decided to release them the Muktal police threatened their parents that if their children were released on bail they would murder them.
I am informed that the parents did release Manohar and Mallesh from custody through the Narayana Pet court on 5 March 2006. I am also informed that on their way home from the court Manohar and Mallesh along with their parents were stopped at Mahabubnagar by some unidentified armed men and were blindfolded and taken to near a forest. It is alleged that the parents were only set free while the whereabouts of Manohar and Mallesh is not known since then.
I am concerned to know that the parents were threatened by the police the night before their children were released and that their children on their way from the court were kidnapped as threatened by the local police. I am also informed that the parents suspect the Muktal police for the disappearance of their children. I am also informed that the parents had approached the High Court and that the court has asked the local police to report to the court every month the progress of the investigation into the case. I am also informed that the parents are not satisfied with the investigation into the case.
I therefore urge you to intervene into this case so that the conduct of the Muktal police is thoroughly investigated and the whereabouts of the missing children are reported to the court at the earliest.
Sincerely yours,
______________
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Chief Minister
'C' Block, 4th Floor, AP Secretariat
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 40 23452498, 23454828
Email: cmap@ap.nic.in2. Sri K.Jana Reddy
Minister for Home Affairs
Block-J,Floor-8,Room No-801
AP Secretariat, Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 40 23457687
EMail : min_home@ap.gov.in3. Special Chief Secretary to Govt.
Department Of Home
A-Block, Floor - 5, AP Secretariat
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 40 234531704. Principal Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Department Of Home
A-Block, Floor - 5, Room No-502
AP Secretariat, Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 40 234501755. Mr. M.A. Basith, IPS
Office of the Director General and the Inspector General of police
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 40 232965706. The Superintendent of Police
Kakinada, East Godavari District
Andhra Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: +91 884 2363000Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)Mayo 28, 2007
Week of the disappeared: Tears yet to dry for family members
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 27: Along with the heart breaking accounts of those whose whereabouts have not been known after being picked up by security forces, the observance of the International Week of the Disappeared began on a solemn note at Ngashan Inn, Hangleikhong in Ukhrul district yesterday.
Under the motto of ‘Helps us to find the disappeared’, the week-long observance is being organised under the aegis of Families of the Involuntarily Disappeared’s Association (FIDAM).
Recounting her grief and ordeal since the disappearance of her husband, Joicy said she has not been able to reconcile to the fact that her beloved husband may not return home and she keeps wondering whether he is still alive or dead even today.
‘But one thing, I am very sure.
I am not going to remarry’, she said with tears in her eyes.
Her husband, Mahaimi was arrested by the security forces from Imphal in 1996 and since then his whereabouts have not been known.
Originally hailing from Chamu village of Kamjong sub-division of Ukhrul district, Joicy is today running a tea shop at Ukhrul district headquarters to sustain the family and living for the sake of her two children.
Recounting another story, Canon Chamroi of Hatlang village informed that troops of 21 Sikh Light Infantry came to his village one morning in March, 1982.After calling out all the male family members, the troops picked up some of the youths including his elder brother Canon Paul and took them away.
That was the last day he saw his elder brother.
Paul was working as an assistant pastor in the Hatlang Baptist Church when the security personnel took him away.
The case of disappearance of his elder brother was taken up even in the Supreme Court.
But apart from issuing an order directing the Indian Army to pay an interim relief/exemplary damage of just Rs 1 lakh, nothing is known as to whether the security personnel responsible for the disappearance of his elder brother had been given befitting punishment or not, Chamroi said.
Paul left behind his wife and two children.
‘Because of poverty in the family, I cannot extend much help to them’, Chamroi lamented.
According to Ngachonmi Chamroi, son of late C Daniel who was arrested along with Paul, said at that time none of the public leaders could speak up against the atrocities of the security forces.
There were cases in which the Khullakpas were buried in the ground till half of their bodies and unregistered/unofficial rape of women at Somra among other excesses committed by the security personnel which were beyond human endurance, he said, adding that many families have are yet able to come out of the mental trauma they have gone through.
All these atrocities are being perpetrated with immunity granted under Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 which does not differentiate between the hill and the valley people, he said while coming out strongly against the prolonged imposition of the inhumane Army Act in Manipur despite public outcry against it.
Another story that could lead to increase of membership of FIDAM was heard from Lamlangate village located along Old Ukhrul Road.
Although he could not remember the exact date, Pastor of Lamlangate Baptist Church RS Phungsin, who originally hailed from Simjang village, recounted that in 1980, his son RS Issac and one VS Canon have been arrested by the Assam Rifles from Ukhrul while they were transporting construction materials in a Tata truck.
On that particular day, a firing encounter took place between the Assam Rifles and underground activists at Ukhrul.
The duo were among many others who have been picked up by the Assam Rifles after the encounter, Phungsin said.
After four days, some of them were set free and according to their information his son RS Issac and VS Canon died from brutal torture by the Assam Rifles.
Though the body of VS Canon s/o of Meiteiching was recovered, that of his son was never found.
‘Since this incident took place long time back, I have stopped worrying about my son’, the aged pastor added.
Established in 1999 by the families of those whose whereabouts have not been known after being picked up by the security forces, FIDAM has been observing the International Week of the Disappeared since 2000. Meeting the family members of the involuntarily disappeared persons, sharing their grief and sorrow and holding discussion on possible legal assistance that could be sought for justice are some of the main highlights of the observance.
The inaugural function of the observance of the International Week of the Disappeared held at Ukhrul was attended by co-ordinator of Human Rights Law Network Advocate Meihoubam Rakesh, president of FIDAM Kangujam Ranjit and general secretary of MAFYF Premjit as chief guest, president and guest of honour respectively.
Meanwhile, on the second day of the week-long observance, a visit was paid to meet the family members of Yumlembam Sanamacha of Angtha Mayai Leikai whose whereabouts remain a mystery till today after he had been picked up by the personnel of 17 Rajput Rifles from his house on the night of February 12, 1998. Mother of Sanamacha, 75-year old Yumlembam Ongbi Arubi, whose eyes have not dried since that day, expressed her desire for construction of a memorial site in remembrance of her disappeared son to which FIDAM also gave the assurance of doing the needful.
It may be recalled that after fighting a case in the High Court, authority of 17 Rajput Rifles had given Rs 3 lakhs as compensation to the family members of Sanamacha, but the security personnel involved in the case are still at large.
Similar visits were also paid at Thangmeiband Hijam Leikai to meet the family of Laishram Bijoykumar who could not be traced after being picked by security personnel on the intervening night of June 4 and 5 of 1996 as well as at the houses of N Keizalal Paite at Langol Housing Complex and Longjam Arunkumar at Iroisemba who have also met with similar fate.
Simple gifts were also presented to the family members from the side of FIDAM during these visits.