पटना। इस माह के शुरुआती दिनों में बिहार के सीतामढ़ी में पुलिस हिरासत में हुई दो युवकों मोहम्मद गुफरान अंसारी (30) और मोहम्मद तस्लीम (35) की मौत को लेकर पूर्व नौकरशाहों, आईपीएस, आईआरएस अधिकारियों के एक समूह ने बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार को पत्र लिखा है। इस पत्र में मांग की गई है कि उपरोक्त युवकों को हद दर्जे तक टॉर्चर करने वाले पुलिस अधिकारियों पर कड़ी कार्रवाई की जाए।
7 मार्च को सीतामढ़ी जिले के डुमरा थाने में गुरफान अंसारी और तस्लीम की थर्ड डिग्री टॉर्चर के कारण मौत हो गई थी। आरोप है कि पुलिस ने दोनों को कथित तौर पर लूट के दौरान हत्या के मामले में गिरफ्तार किया था। पुलिस हिरासत में लेकर उनपर थर्ड डिग्री इस्तेमाल कर रही थी। 7 मार्च की रात को वे पुलिस की प्रताड़ना सह नहीं पाए और बुरी तरह टूट गए। दोनों की हालत खराब देखते हुए पुलिस उन्हें सीतामढ़ी जिला अस्पताल ले गई जहां उन्होंने दम तोड़ दिया।
इस मामले पर सामने आए पूर्व नौकरशाहों, आईपीएस, आईआरएस अधिकारियों के समूह ने नीतीश कुमार को लिखे पत्र में कहा है कि फरार पुलिस अधिकारियों के खिलाफ तत्काल गिरफ्तार कर मुकदमा चलाया जाए। उनके खिलाफ 302 आईपीसी, धारा 176 (1-ए) सीआरपीसी के तहत एक समयबद्ध और स्वतंत्र जांच न्यायिक मजिस्ट्रेट द्वारा तुरंत की जानी चाहिए। इसके अलावा एनएचआरसी के साथ रिपोर्ट साझा की जाए।
इसके साथ ही मांग की गई है कि हिरासत में यातना से मौत पर एनएचआरसी के दिशानिर्देशों के आधार पर पोस्टमार्टम, वीडियो-फिल्मांकन और मजिस्ट्रियल जांच कराना सुनिश्चित करें। एनएचआरसी के दिशानिर्देशों के आधार पर जांच जिले के बाहर की पुलिस द्वारा की जाती है।
राज्य सरकार से यह भी मांग की गई कि नुकसान की पुन: पूर्ति के लिए मृतकों के परिवारों को मुआवजा दिया जाए, राज्य सरकार पीड़ित/गवाह की सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करे और परिवारों को कानूनी सहायता का प्रावधान करे।
पूरा पत्र इस प्रकार है.....
To,
Shri Nitish Kumar
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Bihar
Patna, Bihar
Email: cmbihar@nic.in
15th March, 2019
Subject: Torture and death of two men in police custody (Dumra PS, Sitamarhi district)
Dear Chief Minister,
1. It is with much anguish that we, members of Constitutional Conduct – a group of former civil servants that takes up, from time to time, matters of exceptional national interest – write to you, to express our alarm at the reported case of custodial torture leading to death of two men in police custody in Sitamarhi district on the 7th of March 2019. We urge you to take immediate action to conduct independent enquiry; follow set guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court in custodial torture and death cases; prosecute those found responsible, ensuring the severest punishment; and provide the families adequate compensation, besides protection where need be, and legal aid.
2. Media reports of the incident reveal grave violations by the police. These include the alleged torture to death of the men picked up in a case of robbery and murder. Families have shared photos and a video clip of the victims’ bodies showing marks of nails hammered into them. The police did not allow the families to see the bodies when they first informed them of the deaths, the bodies themselves having been handed over to the families only after 24 hours of death. And while the Director General of Bihar Police has confirmed the custodial death and called it “unacceptable”, it is being reported that the FIR registered does not mention the appropriate sections, viz. Section 302, IPC for murder, nor does it name the police personnel involved. These lacunae already raise serious suspicion about the police’s intent to probe this case lawfully.
3. You would agree, Mr. Chief Minister, that this is a very serious case of violation of right to life and due judicial process of the victims. In an environment of communal polarisation, concerns are being raised about this being, besides a case of police excess, also one that might be motivated by bias against a particular community. Given the circumstance,
we urge you to ensure immediate action so as to restore trust in your administration.
4. We specifically demand the following actions:
i. Immediate arrest and prosecution of the absconding police officers under Sec. 302 IPC
ii. Follow in full, NHRC’s guidelines on custodial torture and death, including instructions
on conducting post mortem, video-filming, and magisterial enquiry.
iii. Ensure that the investigation is conducted by police from outside the district, preferably
by an SIT comprising of senior officers with impeccable integrity;
iv. a time-bound and independent inquiry under Section 176(1-A) CrPC be conducted
immediately by a Judicial Magistrate, and her report acted upon, besides sharing the
report with the NHRC as required under law;
v. state government award compensation to the families for reparation of the loss
vi. State government ensure victim/witness protection, and provision of legal aid to the
families, seeing to it that the State Legal Services Authority appoint a senior lawyer to
assist the family from this stage onwards.
5. We thank you for your consideration and look forward to speedy action against the
perpetrators of the custodial crime.
Yours sincerely,
The signatories include
1 Ambrose, SP IAS, Retd. Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping &
Transport, Government of India (GoI)
2 Agnihotri, Anita IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, GoI
3 Balagopal, Gopalan IAS, Retd. Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
4 Balakrishnan, Chandrashekhar IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
5 Bhaduri, Madhu IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Portugal
6 Burra, Sundar IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
7 Chandramohan, R. IAS, Retd. Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
8 Chaudhuri, Kalyani IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
9 Dani, Anna IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
10 Dayal, Nareshwar IFS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
11 Deb, Pradeep K. IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI
12 Desiraju, Keshav IAS, Retd. Former Health Secretary, GoI
13 Devasahayam, MG Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
14 Ghate, Prabhu IAS, Retd, Former Addl. DG, Department of Tourism, GoI
15 Gupta, Meena IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
16 Habibullah, Wajahat IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, GoI and Chief Information
Commissioner
17 Hassan, Sajjad IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Government of Manipur
18 Jaswal, Kamal IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Department of Information Tech., GoI
19 Khanna, Vinod IFS, Retd. Former Additional Secretary, MEA
20 Kumar, Brijesh IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Department of Information Tech., GoI
21 Kumar, Sudhir IAS, Retd. Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal
22 Lal, Subodh IPoS, Retd. Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of
Communications, GoI
23 Mehta, Aditi IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
24 Mukhopadhyay, Pranab IAS, Retd. Former Director, Institute of Port Management, GoI
25 Nampoothiri, PGJ IPS, Retd. Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Gujarat
26 Pande, Amitabha IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
27 Perti, Alok IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
28 Raghupati, NK IAS, Retd. Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
29 Ribeiro, Julio IPS, Retd. Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & Ambassador to Romania
30 Sanan, Deepak IAS, Retd. Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
31 Saxena, N. C. IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
32 Selvaraj, Ananthappa IRS, Retd. Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
33 Sen, Ardhendu IAS, Retd. Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
34 Sengupta, Abhijit IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
35 Seth, Aftab IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Japan
36 Sharma, Ashok IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
37 Talha, Parveen IRS, Retd. Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
38 Tayabji, Hindal IAS, Retd. Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
7 मार्च को सीतामढ़ी जिले के डुमरा थाने में गुरफान अंसारी और तस्लीम की थर्ड डिग्री टॉर्चर के कारण मौत हो गई थी। आरोप है कि पुलिस ने दोनों को कथित तौर पर लूट के दौरान हत्या के मामले में गिरफ्तार किया था। पुलिस हिरासत में लेकर उनपर थर्ड डिग्री इस्तेमाल कर रही थी। 7 मार्च की रात को वे पुलिस की प्रताड़ना सह नहीं पाए और बुरी तरह टूट गए। दोनों की हालत खराब देखते हुए पुलिस उन्हें सीतामढ़ी जिला अस्पताल ले गई जहां उन्होंने दम तोड़ दिया।
इस मामले पर सामने आए पूर्व नौकरशाहों, आईपीएस, आईआरएस अधिकारियों के समूह ने नीतीश कुमार को लिखे पत्र में कहा है कि फरार पुलिस अधिकारियों के खिलाफ तत्काल गिरफ्तार कर मुकदमा चलाया जाए। उनके खिलाफ 302 आईपीसी, धारा 176 (1-ए) सीआरपीसी के तहत एक समयबद्ध और स्वतंत्र जांच न्यायिक मजिस्ट्रेट द्वारा तुरंत की जानी चाहिए। इसके अलावा एनएचआरसी के साथ रिपोर्ट साझा की जाए।
इसके साथ ही मांग की गई है कि हिरासत में यातना से मौत पर एनएचआरसी के दिशानिर्देशों के आधार पर पोस्टमार्टम, वीडियो-फिल्मांकन और मजिस्ट्रियल जांच कराना सुनिश्चित करें। एनएचआरसी के दिशानिर्देशों के आधार पर जांच जिले के बाहर की पुलिस द्वारा की जाती है।
राज्य सरकार से यह भी मांग की गई कि नुकसान की पुन: पूर्ति के लिए मृतकों के परिवारों को मुआवजा दिया जाए, राज्य सरकार पीड़ित/गवाह की सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करे और परिवारों को कानूनी सहायता का प्रावधान करे।
पूरा पत्र इस प्रकार है.....
To,
Shri Nitish Kumar
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Bihar
Patna, Bihar
Email: cmbihar@nic.in
15th March, 2019
Subject: Torture and death of two men in police custody (Dumra PS, Sitamarhi district)
Dear Chief Minister,
1. It is with much anguish that we, members of Constitutional Conduct – a group of former civil servants that takes up, from time to time, matters of exceptional national interest – write to you, to express our alarm at the reported case of custodial torture leading to death of two men in police custody in Sitamarhi district on the 7th of March 2019. We urge you to take immediate action to conduct independent enquiry; follow set guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court in custodial torture and death cases; prosecute those found responsible, ensuring the severest punishment; and provide the families adequate compensation, besides protection where need be, and legal aid.
2. Media reports of the incident reveal grave violations by the police. These include the alleged torture to death of the men picked up in a case of robbery and murder. Families have shared photos and a video clip of the victims’ bodies showing marks of nails hammered into them. The police did not allow the families to see the bodies when they first informed them of the deaths, the bodies themselves having been handed over to the families only after 24 hours of death. And while the Director General of Bihar Police has confirmed the custodial death and called it “unacceptable”, it is being reported that the FIR registered does not mention the appropriate sections, viz. Section 302, IPC for murder, nor does it name the police personnel involved. These lacunae already raise serious suspicion about the police’s intent to probe this case lawfully.
3. You would agree, Mr. Chief Minister, that this is a very serious case of violation of right to life and due judicial process of the victims. In an environment of communal polarisation, concerns are being raised about this being, besides a case of police excess, also one that might be motivated by bias against a particular community. Given the circumstance,
we urge you to ensure immediate action so as to restore trust in your administration.
4. We specifically demand the following actions:
i. Immediate arrest and prosecution of the absconding police officers under Sec. 302 IPC
ii. Follow in full, NHRC’s guidelines on custodial torture and death, including instructions
on conducting post mortem, video-filming, and magisterial enquiry.
iii. Ensure that the investigation is conducted by police from outside the district, preferably
by an SIT comprising of senior officers with impeccable integrity;
iv. a time-bound and independent inquiry under Section 176(1-A) CrPC be conducted
immediately by a Judicial Magistrate, and her report acted upon, besides sharing the
report with the NHRC as required under law;
v. state government award compensation to the families for reparation of the loss
vi. State government ensure victim/witness protection, and provision of legal aid to the
families, seeing to it that the State Legal Services Authority appoint a senior lawyer to
assist the family from this stage onwards.
5. We thank you for your consideration and look forward to speedy action against the
perpetrators of the custodial crime.
Yours sincerely,
The signatories include
1 Ambrose, SP IAS, Retd. Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping &
Transport, Government of India (GoI)
2 Agnihotri, Anita IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, GoI
3 Balagopal, Gopalan IAS, Retd. Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
4 Balakrishnan, Chandrashekhar IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
5 Bhaduri, Madhu IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Portugal
6 Burra, Sundar IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
7 Chandramohan, R. IAS, Retd. Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
8 Chaudhuri, Kalyani IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
9 Dani, Anna IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
10 Dayal, Nareshwar IFS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
11 Deb, Pradeep K. IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI
12 Desiraju, Keshav IAS, Retd. Former Health Secretary, GoI
13 Devasahayam, MG Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
14 Ghate, Prabhu IAS, Retd, Former Addl. DG, Department of Tourism, GoI
15 Gupta, Meena IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
16 Habibullah, Wajahat IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, GoI and Chief Information
Commissioner
17 Hassan, Sajjad IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Government of Manipur
18 Jaswal, Kamal IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Department of Information Tech., GoI
19 Khanna, Vinod IFS, Retd. Former Additional Secretary, MEA
20 Kumar, Brijesh IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Department of Information Tech., GoI
21 Kumar, Sudhir IAS, Retd. Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal
22 Lal, Subodh IPoS, Retd. Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of
Communications, GoI
23 Mehta, Aditi IAS, Retd. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
24 Mukhopadhyay, Pranab IAS, Retd. Former Director, Institute of Port Management, GoI
25 Nampoothiri, PGJ IPS, Retd. Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Gujarat
26 Pande, Amitabha IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
27 Perti, Alok IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
28 Raghupati, NK IAS, Retd. Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
29 Ribeiro, Julio IPS, Retd. Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & Ambassador to Romania
30 Sanan, Deepak IAS, Retd. Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
31 Saxena, N. C. IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
32 Selvaraj, Ananthappa IRS, Retd. Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
33 Sen, Ardhendu IAS, Retd. Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
34 Sengupta, Abhijit IAS, Retd. Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
35 Seth, Aftab IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Japan
36 Sharma, Ashok IFS, Retd. Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
37 Talha, Parveen IRS, Retd. Former Member, Union Public Service Commission
38 Tayabji, Hindal IAS, Retd. Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir