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------------------------------------------------------------------ Human Rights court indicts cop for gross violations ------------------------------------------------------------------
Even as the High Court has called for an inquiry into the Taleigao parading incident, the Human Rights Court, South has severely indicted the then duty officer of Margao police station for gross violation of human rights by "hand-cuffing" and "parading" a citizen from Borda in the year 1994.
"The conduct of PSI P Shirwaikar in ensuring that the petitioner was taken in handcuffs to hospitals and then kept in handcuffs and in fetters, when the petitioner was admitted in GMC was the most inhuman treatment given to the petitioner and a gross violation of human rights", observed Sessions Judge, Nelson A Britto, who has completed the inquiry into the parading and handcuffing incident following High Court directions. The findings has now been forwarded to the High Court for action.
"The word "touch" in section 46 of CrPC appears to mean "handcuff" in the terminology of Margao Town police station. However, the taking out of the petitioner from the police station in handcuffs was done only to humiliate the petitioner and to please Akthar Khan", Judge Britto said.
In this case, the petitioner, Antonio Sebestiao Mervyn Degbert de Piedade Pacheco approached the High Court with a petition that on April 28, 1994 and May 1, 1994, he was illegally arrested, handcuffed and humiliated, thereby violating his fundamental human rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The findings of the Human Rights court has pointed out that neither the arrest nor the handcuffing of the petitioner was legal and justified. On the contrary, the court answered in the affirmative that the petitioner was handcuffed, taken in a jeep to residence and paraded on the road adjoining his house in handcuffs in full view of the public.
Again, the court answered in the affirmative to the petitioner's allegation that no vehicle was provided to him to take him to Hospicio hospital and on the contrary he was paraded on the streets of Margao in handcuffs from police station to Margao post office.
The petitioner's case is that he is the owner of a property and there exists a civil dispute between him and the legal heirs of one Adam Khan concerning the house situated in the property. The petitioner claimed that on April 28, 1994, Akthar Khan, who is alleged to be a police driver, claiming to be the heir of Adam Khan, allegedly committed a trespass and other acts.
Antonio alleged when he went to the police station to lodge his complaint, he was dissuaded from doing so and was later put behind bars by the police acting upon the complaint of Akthar Khan and others.
On the police defence that the petitioner got violent and tried to push the constables, Judge Britto observed, "It is obvious that the petitioner was handcuffed not because he was required to be handcuffed for attempting to escape or he had become aggressive, but only to display the power of PSI Shirwaikar as a police inspector and to satisfy the perverse intention of the said Akthar in seeing the petitioner handcuffed".
On the petitioner's arrest for the second time on May 5, the court observed, "It is rather unfortunate that the respondents should have handcuffed for the second time the petitioner, who was sweating and was having palpitations and was medically advised to be admitted to Hospicio", adding "that the petitioner was taken in handcuffs to the hospitals and then kept tied to the hospital bed, is the most inhuman act PSI Shirwaikar could have committed, more so when the petitioner had not committed any offence whatsoever.
The court also accepted the story of the petitioner that he was made to wear dirty clothes and was not provided with food or water when he was inside the lock-up for more than an hour. The petitioner had further claimed that he was refused to phone his people at home or contact his lawyer, adding that the police threatened to lock him in the cell for 48 hours so that he may lose his job, as he was a government employee. Adv C Mascarenhas appeared for the petitioner. -------------------------------- HERALD 19/8/03 page 1 ---------------------------------
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