Custodial violence and death is a dark reality in India. Since the unrest that started with the insurgency in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990’s, the Indian state has systematically used force and coercion with a view to making citizens compliant in the region. Normal Kashmiri people are arrested by police and security forces in order to identify suspected militants. Arrest can occur on the basis of suspicion rather than evidence leading to abuse by police. Thousands have disappeared, not only in Kashmir, but also in Jammu.
Police, security forces and intelligence agencies use torture in the form of assault, physical abuse, custodial deaths, rape, threats, psychological humiliation and deprivation of food, water, sleep and medical attention. Torture in custody is now considered an inevitable part of any police investigation as it is widely practised throughout India . Authorities consider torture to be an interrogational tool for investigation and perceive that there is nothing wrong in punishing a victim in custody. Most of the deaths occurring are the direct result of torture in custody. All cases of death in police and prison custody are not documented because the National Human Rights Commission does not have jurisdiction over armed forces .These deaths occur either due to negligence by authorities with respect to hygiene levels of food and deprivation of medical assistance, or by unlawful, prolonged detention and torture.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights has consistently underlined that about 99.99% of deaths in police custody can be ascribed to torture and generally occur within Torture in the Kashmir Valley and Custodial Deaths in India.
Torture and other human rights abuses like arbitrary detention and disappearances are particularly common in Jammu and Kashmir and North-Eastern states and extra-judicial killings and death in custody are said to be increasing in the Kashmir Valley . The Indian Penal Code which stipulates that arrestees must be brought before a magistrate within 24 hours is not upheld in the region and security forces have virtual immunity from prosecution. Yet, it is a paradox that torture continues to exist in Kashmir .
India is a liberal democracy with clear national constitutional and statutory provisions against torture that are purportedly being developed and monitored by a strong and independent judiciary. The Supreme Court of India condemns torture and has outlined best practices for police and other state actors. However, state legislatures have not responded by codifying these national provisions and practices into law. This inaction has led to torture and ill-treatment not being challenged and a culture of impunity . India does not allow any international organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch or domestic human rights organizations, like the National Human Rights Commission, to document cases of torture and other abuses in the Jammu and Kashmir In Kashmir valley, the laws, like the Armed Forces Special Power Act 1990, have not only suspended the powers of the judiciary and accountability within the everyday legal system, but also provide extensive legal protection to the armed forces .
In Kashmir Valley, torture is practiced as a means of extracting information or a confession, or for punishing persons who are believed to be supporters of militants . Methods used are brutal which physically and psychologically impair the victims and can mean they face health problems throughout life. Many victims take arms. The concept of modern policing is still a mirage in India, where police are expected to function as a tool for social control rather than to serve the society. The increasing incidence of torture and deaths in custody has assumed such alarming proportions that it is undermining the rule of law and the administration of criminal justice system.
Since late 1989 thousands of arrests have been made each year under laws conferring broad powers to arrest and detain suspects without charge and without judicial review. However, some civil liberties groups estimated that four times that number were being held without trial in the state. Prisoners are detained for many months or years, some of them outside the state. Many basic legal safeguards are denied to them and effective legal remedies to challenge their detention are virtually non-existent.
Custodial killing of 28 year school teacher Rizwan Asad died in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir late Monday is an another episode to this series of custodial killings.
Asad, an Awantipora resident in the Pulwama district, south Kashmir, was reportedly arrested last week by National Investigative Agency of India as part of a crackdown on socio-political and religious organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir, which was banned in February.
There have been several thousand custodial killings and custodial disappearances in Kashmir. None of them has received any justice, it is because of the complete lack of accountability and total lawlessness.
