PVCHR (People’s Vigilance Committee On Human Rights) uses social media as a cost-effective medium for the intervention and monitoring of the cases of human rights violations across India through Google alert on various thematic issues, and following social media networks like Facebook, Twitter etc. The complaints to the concerned authorities are made through email.
On Oct 28, 2013 we came to know about the case of ‘Youth detained for theft dies in custody’ published in Times of India daily newspaper, Mumbai edition. The news report A 22-year-old youth, detained on suspicion of stealing a bag, died while being questioned at the Vanrai police station in Goregaon (E) on Saturday night. The case will be treated as a custodial death though suspect Manoj Salve died before he could be formally arrested, the police said. Before handing them over to the police, residents had reportedly thrashed Salve, and his associate, Prakash Chavan after catching them in the act at the Nesco ground.
There are two main causes for the rise and development of heinous crimes like torture against the deprived caste. First is the impression of low or deprived caste people on rest of the society i.e. there is general impression in Indian society that poor Dalits and tribals not only do menial work, but they are also the major source of anti-social and criminal elements.
On same day the Secretary General of PVCHR Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi taken the matter to National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi through email with a request to take appropriate action at earliest. It was the part of the initiative Detention Watch which was launched in April, 2011 to monitor any type of torture, inhuman treatment and death of the adult and children in Judicial Custody, Police Custody, Custody of Remand Home and Administrative Custody to extend and strengthen the efforts and work of PVCHR focusing on the rights of prisoners and rights of arrested persons during the times of detention.
The Commission has considered the report of the government as well as the comments of mother of the deceased. It is an admitted case and the government is willing to pay the amount that has been recommended by the Commission, and has sanctioned the amount of Rs. Five Lakhs vide its resolution dated 11 January 2015 for payment to the family of the deceased. However, on the one hand it is the stand of the DGP, Crime Branch, CID Mumbai that the mother of the deceased had refused to receive the said amount in view of the demand of payment of Rs. 50 Lakhs and job to one of the family member in the police department.
On the other hand the mother of the deceased vide her comments wanted a sum of Rs. 50 lakhs as compensation and job in the police department to her daughter. In these circumstances, there is no bar at this stage for the mother of the deceased to receive a sum of Rs. Five Lakhs as recommended by the Commission. So far as the claim of the mother of the deceased for payment of 50 lakhs as compensation and a job for her daughter, it is observed that she can seek the remedy before the appropriate forum to claim the above benefits in addition to what the Commission had recommended and she is also requested to receive the said amount of Rs. Five lakhs besides to approach the competent forum for further relief.
“Even though money does not heal emotional wounds, it sets a precedent to authorities to be careful and not abuse their power”, said Lenin Raghuvanshi.
The honorable commission issued fresh guidelines regarding intimation of custodial death. In order to streamline the procedure of intimating the details of custodial deaths, the National Human Rights Commission has issued fresh guidelines to all State Governments. The Commission had issued general instructions in 1993, that within 24 hours of occurrence of any custodial death, the Commission must be given intimation about it. These intimations were to be followed with postmortem reports, Magisterial Inquest reports/Videography reports of the postmortem etc.