Invitation to the Independent People’s Tribunal on Police Torture
Against Muslims
People’s Vigilance
Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in collaboration with Human Rights Law
Network (HRLN) is holding an Independent People’s Tribunal on Police Torture
against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The event is scheduled to take place on April
3 and 4, 2013 at Kamesh Hut Hotel in Varanasi http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hotel-Kameshut/130647003789586?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite
.
The specific objective
of this event is to highlight and present a systematic account and assessment
of the incidences of gross human rights violations suffered by the members of
Muslim minority in the districts of Varanasi, Moradabad, Aligarh, Chandauli and
Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
Human rights groups
have reported multiple cases of discrimination by police against Muslims within
Uttar Pradesh. According to National Human Rights Commission’s statistics of
2009, over 50 per cent of the complaints of human rights violations is
originated from Uttar Pradesh. Human rights organisations and other civil
society groups working within Uttar Pradesh have shown increasing concerns on
shocking and violent behavior of the state agencies, specially the atrocities
and abuses by the police towards the marginalized unprotected sections of the
society, particularly the Muslim minority in the state. Use of abusive language
and ill treatment seems to have become a common practice on the part of the
police whenever any member of Muslim community approaches them for justice.
Muslims are victimized and targeted during the communal riots. They suffer due
to the partisan attitude of the police towards them.
The people’s tribunal
will consist of seven-member panel of prominent judges, academicians, former
police officials in front of whom the victims would provide necessary
testimonies about their cases. A total of 40 cases will be deposited along with
the testimonies of 4 experts on the topic. We would be delighted if you could
collaborate as a partner in this event.
Sincerely Yours
Lenin Raghuvanshi
Executive Director
Peoples’ Vigilance
Committee on Human Rights
Mathew Jacob
Assistant Director
Human Rights Law Network
Concept
Note
Background and
Objective of the Independent People’s Tribunal
Uttar Pradesh is most
populous state of India. The fourth largest state in terms of people living
below poverty line, Uttar Pradesh constitutes more than 30 percent of the total
population. In recent years, the state has acquired the dubious distinction of
having most repressive administrative set-up which is well demonstrated by
increasingly higher incidents of human rights violations. According to National
Human Rights Commission’s data of 2009, over 50 percent of the complaints of
human rights violations originated from Uttar Pradesh. Human rights
organizations and other civil society groups working within Uttar Pradesh have
shown increasing concerns on shocking and violent behavior of the state
agencies, especially the atrocities perpetrated by the police on the
vulnerable, marginalised and unprotected sections of the society, Particularly
Muslim minority community.
There are mass scale
violations happening in UP which include torture in custody, rape,
extrajudicial killings, more often on flimsy grounds. This is the situation
despite the fact that the state has a legally empowered State Human Rights
Commission to protect the liberty and dignity of the people. Such violent
behavior or violation of individual right to life and liberty as guaranteed
under the constitution of free India is often justified to maintain law and
order in the society, security or in the guise of tackling terrorism.
Muslims constitutes
18.5% of the population of Uttar Pradesh where they are the principle minority
group. Muslims have not only suffered discrimination in social and economic
development process historically but with the “tag of terrorism” in recent
years they have also been subjected to worst forms of repression all over. The
problem is exacerbated by the fact that innocent Muslims today not only fall
victims of communal rioting but also suffer due to the biased attitude of the
state agencies. Muslim victims are given selective treatment on their
complaints and thereby denied the right to be treated equally getting equal
protection before the law. Their rights, freedom and dignity are denied
everyday just because they happen to belong to a particular religion.
The need to ensure dignity
and justice to minorities in the state has motivated the human rights
organisations, civil society groups, legal experts, and academicians to come
together to a public platform to voice their concerns. With this objective the
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), and Human Rights Law
Network (HRLN) have joined hands to hold an Independent People’s Tribunal on
April 3 and 4, 2013 in Varanasi with support of EU-JMN initiative for reducing
police torture against Muslim Minority . The specific objective of this event
is to highlight and present a systematic account and assessment of the
incidences of gross human rights violations suffered by the minority Muslim
community in the districts of Varanasi, Moradabad, Aligarh, Chandauli and Meerut
in Uttar Pradesh. It is part of the systematic inquiry that seeks to identify
and understand the patterns, its practices and the participants in the process
of continued violation of human rights and discrimination against and torture
of Muslim community members at the hands of state agencies like police.
Human rights groups
have reported numerous cases of discrimination by police against Muslims within
Uttar Pradesh. In fact, people of Muslim community pass through a physical and
mental trauma on a daily basis. Any act of terrorism brings enormous amount of
stress and misery for ordinary Muslims because they are the ones who become the
prime suspects. It is not only the state police which targets them but even
common people tend to look at Muslims with suspicion. Today a large number of
Muslim youths are being trapped in bogus cases under a planned conspiracy.
Several media reports expose the fake encounters or extra judicial killings
where Muslim youth were reported to be killed. Even the state treats its Muslim
citizens vindictively. Talking to any Muslim youth on the bylanes of any city
in Uttar Pradesh, one can know the horror tales that they have to pass through.
They can be picked up by the police any time, day or night, for questioning.
Being a Muslim or having a Muslim identity is or can be threatening because one
is likely to be dubbed as a terrorist or having links with terrorist group and
so on. This is how the state police treat anyone who has a Muslim name and is
confronted by police. Use of abusive language and ill treatment seems to have
become a common practice on the part of the police. The social pressure is so
much that today Muslim youths are compelled to adopt Hindu names such Pappu,
Pintu and so on. Keeping beard, wearing cap and loongi can invite trouble
anytime.
Muslims in India face
double dilemma. On the one hand they are labelled as anti nationals who have to
prove their national loyalties and at the same time they are blamed, as being
appeased as a community, by the right wing Hindutva groups. They are victimized
and targeted during the communal riots.
The chronology of
communal riots in Uttar Pradesh clearly demonstrates that such disturbances
have taken place in cities and town where Muslim middle class have attained
some degree of economic self sufficiency in the field of small and medium scale
industry sector. Rioting not only takes heavy toll of life and property but
official data show that it is the minority Muslims who become the major
victims, riot after riot. Muslim community feels that the police and security
agencies have a partisan attitude. In Uttar Pradesh, PAC has been accused of
blatant misuse of power against the minority community. In case of any violent
incident, FIR is registered in the name of unidentified persons and then
gradually the entire Muslim community is harassed and ill treated in the name
of questioning. In the course of investigation even children, elderly and
physically handicapped are not spared; all have to bear the brunt of police
brutality. In recent years a new trend is visible, that is, even the lawyers
who are taking legal cases on behalf of Muslims are being threatened. Crime
record data shows that the percentage of Muslims in jails is much higher than
their percentage in total population. Though, voices are often raised even in
the Indian Parliament that innocent Muslims should be freed. But the question
remains that even if they are out of jails, would those innocent be able to
live in the ‘outer’ world with the same dignity? Will the society accept them
and permit them to live as part of their family? These are the issues which
require scrutiny in contemporary times.
Cases and Expert Opinions
For the purpose of
organizing this people’s tribunal, we have selected about 40 cases of victims,
which have been documented and would be deposed before the jury members in the
IPT. These are representative cases clearly representing a pattern, a
reflection of a reality which is much bigger than these 40 cases. In some cases
FIR has been lodged but no action has been taken by the police. In some cases,
it has been found that police authorities have avoided registering the cases.
In some cases it was found that when victims tried to take the help of police
to seek justice, but instead they were falsely implicated by the police and
their harassment by the police authorities continued. Almost all the cases, to
be deposed in the IPT, have been previously submitted by the victims to various
state authorities and institutions like SSP, DGP, Minority Commission, Women’s
Commission and National Human Rights Commission but so far they have not been
able to receive any relief in their quest for justice. These cases represent
violations committed all over Uttar Pradesh. These violations refer to crimes
or negligence committed by the state institutions such as police inaction after
an FIR, no action after FIR, false investigation report, torture, ill treatment
of the victims etc. The nature of violation covers civil and political rights
of the victims.
In addition to the
victims’ testimonies, five experts working on the issue of rights of minority
community will share their experiences of working in the field of human rights.
This panel of experts is comprising of prominent members of civil society
organizations and academicians who have been involved in studying and
understanding the plight of the marginalized sections of the society at the
grass root level as well as at the policy level. Today, the paradox of human
rights is that even while proclamations are made, the rights are denied to
large section of the people.
Mission of the jury members
Jury members are
requested to make their observations on the state of human rights in Uttar
Pradesh and the role of various state agencies and institutions in fulfilling
the objectives of constitution which assures right to life and liberty to all
its citizens without discriminating on the basis of caste, class, gender or
religion. After hearing the testimonies of the victims and making further
enquiries with them, the jury members will issue interim observations and
recommendations at the end of the event. A report will be prepared on the basis
of the details of the testimonies along with jury’s recommendations. The
reported document will be submitted to the National Human Rights Commission,
National Minorities Commission, National Women’s Commission, Director General
of Police, Uttar Pradesh, Ministry of Minority Welfare, Chief Minister of UP,
Prime Minister of India, different political parties, Home Department and Chief
Justice of India. It will also be released to the press. For the advocacy of
these cases, RTI applications will be filed so that victims get justice and
rule of law is established.
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