TITLE: INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994 AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DATE: FEBRUARY 1995 INDIA India is a longstanding parliamentary democracy with a free press, civilian-controlled military, independent judiciary and active political parties and civic associations. Competitive elections produce regular changes of leadership at the national, state, and municipal levels. Although the 25 state governments have primary responsibility for maintaining law and order, the central Government provides guidance and support through use of national paramilitary forces. The Union Ministry for Home Affairs controls the nationwide police service, most of the paramilitary forces, and the internal intelligence bureaus. Paramilitary forces are deployed throughout India and have committed significant human rights abuses, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. India has a mixed economy. The private sector is predominant in agriculture, most nonfinancial services, consumer goods manufacturing, and some heavy industry. The Government continued economic liberalization and structural reforms begun in 1991. India's economic problems are compounded by rapid population growth of 2 percent per year with a current total well above 900 million. Income distribution remained very unequal. Forty percent of the urban population and half the rural population live below the poverty level. There continue to be significant human rights abuses, despite extensive constitutional and statutory safeguards. Many of these abuses are generated by intense social tensions, the authorities' attempts to repress violent secessionist movements, and deficient police methods and training. These problems are acute in Kashmir, where the judicial system has been disrupted both by terrorist threats including the assassination of judges and witnesses, and by judicial tolerance of the Government's heavy handed anti-militant tactics. Serious human rights abuses include: extrajudicial executions, torture, and reprisal killings by security forces fighting separatist insurgents in Kashmir and northeast India; political killings, kidnaping, and extortion by militants; extrajudicial executions by police in Punjab; torture, rape, and deaths of suspects in police custody throughout India; incommunicado detention for prolonged periods without charges under special security legislation; government failure in most instances to prosecute and appropriately punish police and security forces implicated in abuse; widespread intercaste and communal violence; legal and societal discrimination as well as extensive violence, both societal and by police and other agents of government against women; infrequent prosecution of "dowry deaths" (wife murder); and widespread exploitation of indentured, bonded, and child labor. Beginning in late 1993, the Government sought to address human rights concerns by establishing a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with powers to investigate and recommend policy changes, punishment, and compensation in cases of police abuse. The Commission began to establish a record as an effective advocate for human rights when it examined security forces abuses committed in November 1993 in Bijbehara, Kashmir. One international human rights group commended the Commission's reports as "hard hitting." The steadfast work of local human rights groups and the contribution of the NHRC helped bring about a public acknowledgement of serious human rights abuses and the need for official steps to deal with them (see Section 4). RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing Political killings by both government forces and militant terrorists continued at a high rate, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeast, where separatist insurgencies continued in 1994. The security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings of suspected militants in Kashmir. Human rights monitors maintain they have documented the names, dates, and circumstances in scores of extrajudicial killings each month. Typically, those killed were detained by security forces, and their bodies, bearing multiple bullet wounds and often marks of torture, returned to relatives or were otherwise discovered the same day or a few days later. While there is little information to corroborate individual cases, press reports and anecdotal evidence leaves no doubt that the pattern exists and is extensive. Security forces claim that these killings, when they acknowledge them, occur in armed encounters with militants. Deaths in Kashmir, particularly of security forces and militants, increased in 1994 compared with the previous year. Press reports indicate that 1,296 civilians, 175 police personnel, and 1,630 militants died in insurgency-related violence in Kashmir. In Punjab, instances of terrorist violence virtually disappeared in 1994, and the number of Sikh militants killed diminished considerably from 1993. The NHRC, visiting the state in April, concurred with a widespread public perception that Punjabi militancy was at an end and that police excesses could no longer be explained as a response to an emergency. In a report issued in August, the NHRC strongly recommended that the Punjab state government take steps to restore the normal functioning and oversight of the police. During 1994, 76 alleged Punjabi militants were reportedly killed in armed encounters, including only 4 in the last 6 months of the year, compared with more than 583 such killings in 1993. No police or other security personnel were killed in such encounters in 1994. The fact that no police died underscored the implausibility of police claims that militants were killed in "crossfire." Punjab police hit teams again in 1994 pursued Sikh militants into other parts of India. On June 24, Punjab police shot and killed Karnail Singh Kaili, a man they identified as a Sikh terrorist leader of the Bhindranwale Tiger Force (BTFK) in West Bengal. The government of West Bengal claimed that it had not been informed of the presence of the Punjab police in West Bengal, seized Kaili's body and weapons, and barred the departure of the police team until the Punjab Chief Minister apologized. In Bihar, human rights groups claim police continued to kill Naxalites in faked "encounter killings." In one case in April, police allegedly killed 11 suspected Naxalites in cold blood and then claimed the deaths had occurred in an encounter. During their August visit to Andhra Pradesh, representatives of the NHRC heard complaints of abuses committed by both Naxalites and police. The NHRC asked the Bihar government for details of nine alleged faked encounter killings by the police and recommended the payment of compensation to the relatives of the Naxalite killings, and also to the relatives of the victims of faked encounter killings. There is evidence that the practice of faked encounter killings has spread to Bombay. The previous year's pattern persisted in 1994. There were over 60 alleged criminals reported as killed in armed encounters with the Bombay Police during the first 7 months of the year. While state authorities continued to tolerate extrajudicial killings in areas buffeted by separatist insurgencies, the press and courts paid increasing attention to deaths in police custody and faked encounter killings. The Supreme Court directed active investigation and prosecution of custodial deaths and other cases of police abuse and negligence. In one case, murder charges were brought against Punjab policemen for a faked encounter killing. In another case, a High Court judge in July recommended murder charges for 11 Punjab policemen in a faked encounter killing and compensation to the victim's family. In September the Supreme Court strongly criticized the Punjab police, including the Director General K.P.S. Gill, for inaction following the abduction by police in 1991 of 7 members of a family, none of whom has been seen since. In October the Supreme Court ordered the prosecution of 58 police officers accused in the 1991 murders of 10 Sikh youths in Uttar Pradesh. The NHRC is investigating 25 cases of suspected faked encounter killings. Deaths of suspects in police custody continued to occur as a result of torture during interrogation. One such case was that of Madan Lal who died in November 1993 within hours of being picked up and released by police. In June the NHRC recommended the award of $1,700 to compensate Lal's family, the transfer of the investigation from the Delhi Police Department to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the initiation of proceedings against a police officer who had threatened witnesses. The Government accepted the recommendations. The press reported that police arrested Mahesh Paswan in the Hajipur District, Bihar on the evening of February 19 and that Paswan died in custody early the next morning. The victim's father filed charges against four policemen suspected of causing his son's death. The authorities suspended one officer, and the district magistrate initiated an inquiry. According to press reports, Bapula Das died in police custody in the Khandagiri Police Station in Orissa April 27, hours after he was detained. Two men who had been detained with Das told a local human rights group that the police tortured the three of them with electric shocks. The Orissa Government reportedly suspended three police officers, initiated a judicial inquiry, and paid the victim's family $800 in compensation. On August 29, Kashmiri journalist Ghulam Mohammad Lone and his young son were shot dead in their home. He had received a death threat from an army officer in connection with a story reporting corrupt practices in the military. At year's end, the authorities had not charged anyone in the killing. Terrorist attacks accounted for hundreds of deaths. As in the past, Kashmiri militant groups carried out politically motivated killings on a wide scale, targeting progovernment politicians, government officials, alleged police informers, civilians and members of rival factions. Examples included: the shooting death of Wali Mohammad Itoo, a National Conference leader and former state minister; the killings of former state assembly member Abdul Majid Pandey and a police inspector in separate incidents on July 15; and the killing of three passengers on two buses stopped by militants in the Doda District May 20. On June 20, militants allegedly shot and killed the Dr. Qazi Nissar, the Mirwaiz (Muslim religious leader) of South Kashmir, for speaking out against militancy. The Government estimated that 70 persons, including 35 militants, were killed in clashes between militant factions in the first 3 months of 1994. Maoist revolutionary Naxalites continued to commit many killings in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa. Naxalites held "people's courts" in which village headmen and others were condemned to death and summarily executed as "class enemies" and "caste oppressors." In Bihar during 1993, 300 persons were estimated to have been killed in clashes between security forces and Naxalites, and between Naxalite factions. Extensive, complex patterns of violence continued in the seven states of northeastern India. Numerous killings can be attributed to conflicts in each of the following categories: between indigenous peoples, usually Buddhist or animist, and immigrant groups, usually Muslim or Hindu; between tribes of indigenous peoples; between security forces and militants of at least 18 insurgent groups; among factions of insurgent groups. Large numbers of security personnel were among the victims of the violence of the northeast. b. Disappearance There were widespread reports of disappearances again in 1994. There are credible reports that police throughout India often do not file required arrest reports. As a result, there are hundreds of unsolved disappearances in which relatives claim an individual was taken into police custody and never heard from again. Police usually deny these claims, countering that there are no records of arrest. Security forces acknowledge that they detained more than 10,000 in Jammu and Kashmir from 1990 to mid-1994 and that they released over 7,000 of them. The Government made public a list of more than 3,000 detainees in more than 20 detention centers in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. However, human rights groups maintain that the Government does not acknowledge holding without charge as many as 7,000 additional persons in incommunicado detention. The Government maintains that screening committees run by the state government provide information about detainees to their families. However, other sources indicate that families are able to confirm the detention of their relatives only by bribing prison guards. The Kashmir Bar Association reports that bodies bearing marks of torture of persons detained weeks earlier have been found or returned to the victim's families. Amnesty International (AI) published a report in December 1993 on disappearances in Jammu, Kashmir, and Punjab. The Government's response to the report shed little light on cited cases. The response indicated that the Government of Pakistan and militant groups bear the responsibility for creating circumstances in Kashmir that "created possibilities of what may be perceived as excesses." The response indicated that the Government had completed inquiries on 75 disappearances: 35 were dismissed on the grounds that no missing-person reports were filed with local police authorities. That is, the relatives did not file reports with the authorities whom they believed perpetrated or condoned the abductions. Investigation continued in 12 cases, and in 10 cases the authorities released disappeared individuals from detention. The Government offered other explanations for the remaining cases. Problems with the absence of police arrest records is particularly common in Punjab, where a number of disappearances were reported. A noteworthy case is that of Sukhwinder Singh Bhatti, a defense lawyer for accused Sikh militants. On May 12, plainclothes police officers arrested Bhatti; he has not been seen since. In a letter to the Chief Justice, a group of Punjab lawyers pointed out that Bhatti's case was the fourth in 3 years in which the police kidnaped a defense lawyer for accused terrorists. On June 17, the Haryana and Punjab High Court ordered a CBI investigation into Bhatti's case; and on July 22, the NHRC summoned the Punjab state Home Secretary to provide explanations for the disappearances of the four lawyers. The NHRC reported that the cases are under investigation or before the Supreme Court. Militants in Kashmir and the northeast have increasingly resorted to kidnapings to sow terror, seek the release of detained comrades and extort funds. According to the government, Kashmiri militants conducted 368 kidnapings in first half of 1994, including those of an American citizen and 5 British nationals, all of whom were released unharmed or freed unharmed by police. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The law prohibits torture, but there is credible evidence that it is common throughout India. The authorities often use torture during interrogations. In other cases, they torture detainees to extort money and sometimes as summary punishment. Police officials in West Bengal acknowledged in press interviews that torture is a routine practice in interrogation. Human rights groups continue to report numerous cases in which police and paramilitary forces have used torture during interrogations in Kashmir, Punjab, and Assam. Commonly reported methods include: beatings, rape, burning with cigarettes and hot rods, suspension by the feet, crushing of limbs with heavy rollers, and electric shocks. Because many alleged torture victims die in custody, and others are afraid to speak out, there are few first-hand accounts, although the marks of torture have often been found on the bodies of deceased detainees (see Sections 1.a. and 1.b.). The prevalence of torture by police in lockups throughout India is borne out by the number of cases of deaths in police custody. The rape of persons in custody is part of the broader pattern of custodial abuse. According to the Home Minister, 54 cases of custodial rape occurred in 1991, 79 in 1992 and 45 in 1993. A report published by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) in May detailed 24 cases of alleged custodial rape between 1989 and 1993 in Delhi. The PUDR noted that there have been no convictions and that the authorities reinstated three of 10 policemen dismissed in connection with these cases. In Madras, there were three publicized cases of gang rapes of the wives of prisoners in police stations in 1994; a number of policemen have been suspended in connection with these cases. In late December, an official investigation recommended official charges against policemen who allegedly raped seven women in a melee that occurred when the police blocked the movement of demonstrators near Muzaffargarh on October 2. There were also many reports of rapes committed by security forces and militants in Kashmir and the Northeast. Confessions extracted by force are generally inadmissible in court. Under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), a confession made to an officer above the rank of superintendent of police is admissible as evidence--provided the police believe the confession was voluntary. However, the use of torture to obtain confessions under TADA is common. Prison guards have abused inmates for reasons unrelated to interrogation. In one particularly serious case, 7 prisoners died and 27 were injured as a result of beatings by guards in Pilibhit Jail on the night of November 8. Criminal charges have been brought against guards and other officials involved. Although custodial abuse is deeply rooted in police practices, there is evidence of growing public awareness of the problem. The NHRC has identified torture and deaths in detention as one of its priority concerns. It has directed district magistrates to report all custodial deaths within 24 hours and stated that failure to do so will be interpreted as an attempted coverup. Magistrates appear to be complying with this directive. The courts also have been more active in prosecuting cases of custodial abuse. Many cases are old and illustrate the slowness of the judicial system in custodial cases. Early in the year, five Delhi constables were sentenced to 5 years' rigorous imprisonment for illegally confining and beating to death Kamal Kumar in July 1979. In January the Supreme Court sentenced three Uttar Pradesh policemen to imprisonment and fined two CBI inspectors for beating a suspect on the steps of the Supreme Court. In April the Punjab High Court ordered $1,700 in compensation to 4 women who had the word "pickpocket" tattooed on their foreheads by Punjab police. There are three classes of prison facilities. Prisoners are not classified by the nature of their crimes, but by their standing in society. Class "C" prisoners are those who cannot prove they are college graduates or income taxpayers. Their cells are overcrowded, often have dirt floors, no furnishings, and poor quality food. The use of handcuffs and fetters is common. Class "B" prisoners--college graduates and taxpayers--are held under markedly better conditions. Class "A" prisoners are prominent persons, as designated by the Government, and are accorded private rooms, visits, and adequate food, which may be supplemented by their families. Class "A" prisoners are usually held in government guest houses. The authorities do not always follow this classification: following their arrest in October 1993, Kashmiri political leaders Abdul Gani Lone and Syed Ali Shah Gilani were held for months as class "C" prisoners before they were moved to a guest house (see also Section 1.e.). According to a statement in Parliament by Minister of State for Home Affairs, P.M. Sayeed, New Delhi's Tihar Jail, considered one of the best-run in India, housed in March 8,577 prisoners--in facilities designed to hold 2,487. According to Sayeed, 7,505 detainees awaited the completion of their trials, while 672 others have been in trial for 3 years or longer. The Government does not allow NGO's to monitor prison conditions. Nevertheless, prison conditions are a subject of press reports and have received greater attention from human rights groups. Press accounts of prison conditions include reports of sexual abuse of prisoners, the use of prisoners by prison officials as domestic servants, the sale of food and milk for prisoners on the black market, the sale of female prisoners to brothels, and the marketing and export of prison-made goods. Women constitute 2 to 6 percent of the total prison population, according to the 1987 Justice Krishna Iyer Report. Although Parliament passed a Children's Act in 1960 to safeguard young prisoners against abuse and exploitation, and a Juvenile Justice Act in 1986 provides that boys under 16 and girls under 18 are not to be held in prison, most states have not implemented these Acts. The Supreme Court has criticized the state governments for not providing reformatories and separate detention facilities for children. d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile Over the past decade, the Government implemented a variety of special security laws intended to help law enforcement authorities fight separatist insurgency. There are credible reports of widespread arbitrary arrest and detention under these laws. The Constitution requires that detainees have the right to be informed of the grounds for arrest, have the right to be represented by counsel, and, unless the person is held under a preventive detention law, the right to appear before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. At this initial appearance, the accused must either be remanded for further investigation or released. The Supreme Court has upheld these provisions. An accused person must be informed of his right to bail at the time of arrest and may, unless he is held on a nonbailable offense, apply for bail at any time. The police must file a charge sheet within 60 to 90 days of arrest; if they fail to do so, court approval of a bail application becomes mandatory. The Constitution permits preventive detention laws in the event of threats to public order and national security. These laws provide for limits on the length of detention and for judicial review. Several laws of this type remain in effect. The National Security Act (NSA) of 1980 permits detention of persons considered security risks; police anywhere in India (except Kashmir) may detain suspects under NSA provisions. Under these provisions, the authorities may detain a suspect without charge or trial as long as 1 year on loosely defined security grounds. The state government must confirm the detention order, which is reviewed by an advisory board of three High Court judges within 7 weeks of arrest. NSA detainees are permitted visits by family members and lawyers and must be informed of the grounds for detention within 5 days (10 to 15 days in exceptional circumstances). Nationwide, more than two-thirds of the 16,000 people detained under NSA since 1980 have been released by order of the state government or an advisory board. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) of 1978 covers corresponding procedures for that state. In May the authorities released and immediately rearrested Kashmiri political leaders Abdul Gani Lone and Syed Ali Shah Gilani, who had been detained under the PSA in October 1993. The move followed a decision by the Supreme Court which ruled that the authorities did not have sufficient grounds to detain Lone and Gilani. However, they and 376 other Kashmiri detainees were released in October. Over half of the detainees in Jammu and Kashmir are held under the PSA. The TADA was enacted in 1985 to fight insurgency in Punjab, but has been invoked by almost every state, including those in which there is no insurgency (see also Sections 1.c. and 1.e.). TADA stipulates that those found guilty of terrorist and disruptive acts, or membership in a terrorist gang, may be sentenced to no less than 5 years. It also carries the death penalty for certain terrorist crimes. Disruptive activities are defined broadly to include speech or actions that disrupt or challenge the sovereignty or territorial integrity of India. The TADA extends the period to 60 days during which a detainee may be held in police custody after remand by the court, and it allows administrative detention up to 180 days (1 year in special circumstances). Suspects held under TADA must be presented within 24 hours before an executive magistrate who reviews the detention order, but human rights groups say this requirement is frequently ignored. The TADA was extended for 2 years in May 1993, at which time an amendment was added requiring authorization from a state police inspector general before a court takes cognizance of a TADA case. According to the Government, there were 8,742 TADA arrests in 21 states in 1993, the latest year for which information is available. In May the Home Ministry informed Parliament that 61,843 persons had been detained under TADA since the law's enactment in 1985, and 48,502 had been released on bail. While the Ministry said it did not maintain information on the numbers of cases that resulted in conviction, the Minister of State conceded that the number was very low. Press reports claim that, on the basis of official figures, 626 persons have been convicted under TADA in all of India since 1986. According to a study by one human rights group, 18 of 11,957 detainees arrested under the TADA have been convicted in the state of Gujarat, even though that state has not experienced any insurgency. The vast majority of TADA detainees are eventually freed on bail or released without charges being filed. There are widespread accusations that the special security laws have been misused in states not experiencing civil unrest as a convenient way to hold people without trial. These accusations are borne out by government data showing TADA and NSA arrests by state. In 1993 more persons were detained under TADA in Gujarat and Maharashtra than in Punjab, which was the Act's original target. The authorities in Gujarat detained 2,902 persons under TADA in 1993--roughly one third of the nationwide total. Detentions under NSA in 1993 were highest in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Public opposition to TADA rose after a Supreme Court decision in March upheld the Act's constitutionality. The press, human rights groups, and lawyers' organizations criticized the decision. The National Minorities Commission and prominent Muslim members of the Ruling Congress (I) Party, including a sitting minister, claimed that TADA is used disproportionately against minorities, Muslims in particular, and called for its repeal. In July the Supreme Court issued another decision that restricted the use of TADA to terrorist crimes and called for the release of those detained under TADA after 180 days if no charges have been brought. The Home Minister acknowledged that there has been widespread abuse of TADA and directed the chief ministers of the states to correct these practices. The pace of releases subsequently accelerated and, by the end of November, the nationwide total of persons detained under TADA was reduced to 6,432. The largest number of those still held are in Kashmir and the northeastern states in Maharashtra, where religious riots occurred in January 1993. The Minister of State for Home Affairs stated in July that the Government might not renew TADA when it expires in April 1995, if the Government found that the states have misused the Act. The NHRC announced in August that it would ask the Supreme Court to review its March decision. In September the NHRC entered a plea before the Court challenging one of TADA's provisions. The Court denied NHRC's standing but allowed its lawyer to advise the Court. The court system is overloaded. The result has been the detention of persons awaiting trial for periods longer than they would receive if convicted. Prisoners may be held months or even years before obtaining a trial date. According to a reply to a parliamentary question in July, more than 111,000 criminal cases were pending in the Allahabad High Court, the most serious case backlog in the country, of which nearly 29,000 cases had been pending for 5 to 8 years.