Dear freinds please donot ask for an enquiry . File a comolainrt under SC stprevention of atrocities ACT ON THE BASIS OF pucl rEPORT AND FILE WRIT WITH A DIRECTION TO THE POLICE O INVESTIGATE UNDER THE ATROCITIES ACT Fact findig and other forms of protest have stopped working forbig Dalit Conference focussing on this atrocity. Go it well all the best kgk
On 4/25/10, Ranjana <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Custodial Death of Gangula Tadingi, an Under-trial Prisoner, Arrested in > Connection with Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, Narayanpatna > > – A PUCL (Bhubaneswar) Report > > > > > > Gangula Tadingi, a poor adivasi man, aged about 40, died on 12th April 2010 > in judicial custody, reportedly of Tuberculosis. He was an under trial > prisoner kept in Koraput District Jail. Tadingi was one of the 133 people > arrested in connection with the alleged attack by the Chasi Mulia Adivasi > Sangha on Narayanpatna Police Station on 20th November 2009 in which two > adivasi people were killed and many more injured in police firing. On the > incident of police firing, the PUCL Bhubaneswar had written to the State > Human Rights Commission making an appeal for an investigation into the > incident. There has been no response from the Commission on this even after > six months. > > > > When the news of Tadingi’s death was reported in a section of local media > one of the PUCL members from Bhubaneswar unit visited Koraput during > 16th-17th April 2010 to find out the circumstances leading to this death in > custody. The following report is based on the member’s interviews with the > jail authorities i.e., the Superintendent of Jail, the Jail Doctor, the > District Collector and the Superintendent of Police Koraput, Dr.Niranjan > Das, the TB specialist at the District Hospital Koraput, Mr.Nihar Ranjan > Pattanaik and Mr.Gupteswar Panigrahi, lawyers for the deceased Tangidi as > well as for other arrested people of Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha and one NGO > activist who visited the victim’s village and met his family members. An > interview with some of the jail inmates was refused by the jail authorities > citing ‘security’ concern. > > > > Version of Sri Brahmananda Sahu, Superintendent of Jail: Gangula Tadingi was > admitted into the jail on 17.12.09. To his knowledge he had no health > problem at the time of entry. He was detected having TB two months ago, > treated by the jail doctor in the jail hospital till 7th April when he was > shifted to the District hospital as his condition worsened. He died on 12th > April. His family was not informed of his illness and only when he died a > message was sent home. On asking why Tadingi’s family was not informed of > his illness, even after he was admitted in the district hospital, the Jail > Superintendent said he had tried. He said he had sent the message to the > Narayanapatna Police Station and the PS did not convey the message to the > family. > > > > Tadingi’s family was sent for after he died and after doing the post-mortem > the body was handed over to his wife. The body was buried in Koraput itself > as the district administration could not provide a vehicle to transport the > body to Tadingi’s village. > > > > Tadingi was last produced in the Court on 19.2.10. On asking why he was not > produced in the court for nearly two months, when he should have been > produced once in every 15 days, the Superintendent said that the jail > authorities could do nothing about it, because, for security reasons, unless > adequate police force was provided the under trial prisoners couldn’t be > taken to the Court. > > > > Version of Dr.L.D.Nayak, the Jail Doctor: At the time of entry into the > jail, Gangula Tadingi had reported body ache and was given medicines for > that. He had told the doctor that the police had badly beaten him up before > he was brought to the jail. When asked whether this matter was recorded in > the register the doctor said that it wasn’t as ‘there was no external injury > marks’. According to the jail doctor Tadingi was continuously complaining > of fever and stomach ache and was diagnosed having Pulmonary Tuberculosis in > January 2010. Since then he was treated in the jail hospital till 7th April > when he was shifted to the District Hospital. On asking whether Tadingi > was kept in a separate room or along with other patients in the same room > the doctor said that he was kept in a separate room. When asked why did > Tadingi die when TB is curable and when he was saying that he was satisfied > with the treatment and the diet provided to him the doctor replied by saying > ‘it would be known only from the post-mortem report’. When asked whether he > suspected anything which could have been caused by the police beating he > replied, ‘possibility of an internal injury can not be ruled out’. The > doctor also told that Tadingi was not the only one who had complained of > police beating – many people arrested in connection with Chasi Mulia Adivasi > Sangha had complained of the same. > > > > When asked how many TB patients are there in the jail presently the doctor > said there is one more TB patient but there might be more also since not all > inmates (above 500 people are kept in the jail) are being examined for TB. > When asked why aren’t they being examined, he said that unless somebody > comes of with symptoms they don’t examine. And, “Tribal people, being > illiterate and unaware of the symptoms, would not complain of any illness > unless it becomes serious”. > > > > Version of Dr.Niranjan Das, TB Specialist of Koraput District Hospital: > Gangula Tadingi was admitted in the District Hospital 7th April, 2010. His > treatment was alright. Then how did he die when TB is curable? “That will > be known from the post mortem report”, was his reply. The doctor then > mentioned that on 10th April he had recommended the jail authorities to > shift Tadingi to the MKCG Medical College Hospital, Berhampur for further > diagnosis. But the jail authorities did not shift him. He also developed > jaundice and died on 12th April. > > > > Meeting with Rajesh P.Patil, District Collector, Koraput: > > The district collector told that he had sent his interim report to the NHRC > on the death of Gangula Tadingi within twenty-four hours of the incident. > The final report would be sent once the post mortem report is available. > When asked for a copy of this report he said, “I can’t give it like that. > You apply it through RTI”. When asked whether he found any negligence on > the part of the jail authorities in the treatment of Tadingi, he said he > didn’t. When asked if there was no negligence in the treatment then how did > he die, his reply was, “We have to wait for the post-mortem report”. > > > > On the question of not producing Tadingi in the Court, thereby not giving an > under-trial prisoner the opportunity to inform the court whether he was > getting proper treatment or not, the collector said that that job is looked > after by the court and the jail authorities and the district administration > has nothing to do with it. The district administration, on its part, is > trying to release on bail most of the under-trial prisoners in Narayanpatna > case. They have appointed a nodal officer to look into this. > > > > Did he visit the jail regularly in his role as a member of the District Jail > Committee to look into the health and hygienic conditions in the jail and > did he know of the illness of Tadingi and enquire into the treatment he was > getting? Does he know whether TB patients are kept in separate room/ward or > allowed to be kept with other patients? To these questions the collector > replied that he visited the jail as a member of the Jail Committee, found > the jail conditions alright but did not know of the illness of Tadingi. He > said he didn’t know whether TB patients were kept separately from other > patients or not. > > > > When asked how the District administration could be so insensitive as not to > provide any help to Tadingi’s family to take the body to his village, he > said, “Who said that we didn’t help. We had arranged for a vehicle but the > driver was not willing to go. You know the situation in Narayanpatna. I > was informed about the case at the last moment. We have sanctioned an > amount of Rs.10000/- from the family benefit scheme”. > > > > When asked, why is that a civil liberty organization denied access to the > jail inmates and, when we are denied access, how can we believe that > everything is alright inside the jail walls, he said, “It is for security > reasons. There are Maoists in the jail. So there are restrictions in > meeting. But if the Superintendent of Police allows you to meet I have no > objection”. > > > > Meeting with Shri Anup Sahu, Superintendent of Police, Koraput > > On asking why the Narayanpatna police did not communicate the message sent > by the jail authorities to the family of Ganguly Tadingi, the SP said, “It’s > not easy. I, myself, haven’t been able to communicate with my own people in > Narayanpatna police station for the last three days. Roads are being cut > off so often. What do you expect in such situation?” > > > > “It is not our responsibility to see whether the under-trial prisoners are > produced in the court or not. It is for the court and the jail authorities > to see to it”, was the response when told about what the jail authorities > were saying about the non-cooperation of the police in production of > under-trial prisoners in court. > > > > Meeting with the Lawyers defending Gangula Tadingi: > > “Not producing Gangula Tadingi in the court for nearly two months is not an > exception; rather it is the norm. There is no doubt that the jail > authorities and the police take a casual attitude of their duty to produce > the under-trial prisoners at every adjournment. Citing security reasons is > only a plea. > > > > “Tadingi was not given proper diet, required for a TB patient, in the jail. > He was not kept in a separate room in the jail hospital. He was kept in the > same room along with other patients. Other inmates of the jail have > reported these facts. We got to know of Tadingi’s illness only when he was > shifted to the District Hospital. > > > > “After the death of Gangula Tadingi, all inmates skipped one meal as a mark > of solidarity but some of the inmates sat on a hunger strike demanding > suspension of the Jail superintendent and the jail welfare officer, > compensation for his family. They had other demands as well, such as > regular production of the under-trial prisoners in the Court, withdrawal of > cases against people associated with Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha and to stop > operation green hunt etc. During the hunger strike the jail authorities > were reluctant even to allow the lawyers to meet their clients even though > it was reported that their conditions were serious.” > > > > Discussion with an NGO activist who visited the village of Gangula Tadingi > and met the family members: > > Gangula Tadingi was a poor agricultural labourer. He was one of those > adivasis who supposedly ‘surrendered’ before the police after the > Narayanpatna police firing incident. He was asked by the police to report > at the police station once in every week and Gangula had reported twice. > When he went to report for the third time on the third week he was arrested. > Tadingi’s wife reported that he didn’t have any health problem before the > arrest. She was not informed by the jail authorities that her husband was > ill and that he had TB. Even when she reached the Hospital Morgue, after > getting news of Tadingi’s death, she was not told how he died. The police > did not make any arrangement to carry the dead body to their village. The > police only offered some money but didn’t help to arrange for a vehicle. > Since they didn’t know anybody in Koraput who could help in arranging a > vehicle they left it to the police to do whatever it wanted to with the dead > body. The family members have heard that the government would give them an > amount of Rs.10000/- but are yet to receive it. The family has a job card > under NREGS but not a single entry has been made in it. Tadingi’s wife, > Kamala Tadingi is in poor health herself and since her husband’s arrest has > been struggling to feed herself and her three minor children. > > > > Observations and Demands: > > > The death of under-trial prisoner Gangula Tadingi is unnatural and > unfortunate. It is a violation of right to life of the victim. > > > The victim was not produced in the Court, neither physically nor through > video linkage, within 15 days interval, which is a mandatory provision under > Code of Criminal Procedure and a statutory right of an under-trial prisoner. > It has been observed that the other under-trial prisoners of the same jail, > associated with Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, are also not produced in the > Court at regular interval. > > > The visits of District Collector and other members of the District jail > Committee to prisons to look into the health and hygiene conditions, medical > and other facilities appear to be ritual visits. It does not seem to > satisfy the objective of the visit of the team to look into the jail > conditions in general and the rights of the under-trial prisoners in > particular. > > > The family of the victim is in a distressed condition which has been > deprived of its sole earning member. > > > Different reports have been collected regarding whether the victim, a TB > patient, was kept separately or along with other patients in the jail > hospital. It may be recalled that according to one sample study by the NHRC > nearly seventy-nine percent of deaths in judicial custody (other than those > attributed to custodial violence) were as a result of infection of > Tuberculosis.] > > > The district administration did not make necessary arrangements to transport > the dead body of Gangula Tadingi from Koraput to his native village for > cremation as per the tradition of the community. It is a clear violation of > human right of the victim’s family. > > > Not allowing the civil liberty organizations, in the name of security, to > interact with any of the jail inmates does not appear to be prima facie > valid. It raises the suspicion that the rights of the under-trial > prisoners/convicts, and specifically, the basic rights of the inmates > relating to health, hygiene and medical facilities are not properly > protected. > > > > Considering all the above circumstances with regard to the death of Gangula > Tadinga in judicial custody, and the larger issue of the rights of > prisoners, we demand that: > > > An independent inquiry, preferably a judicial one, be instituted to look > into all aspects that led to the custodial death of Gangula Tadingi and > officials responsible be punished accordingly; > > > The family of Ganguly Tadingi must be adequately compensated for the family > lost its sole earning member; > > > The mandatory provision as laid down under section 167 (2) (b) of the Code > of Criminal Procedure be scrupulously implemented to ensure the production > of under-trial prisoners in the Court once in every 15 days. And there > should be proper communication between each prisoner and the concerned > Magistrate in every case; and > > > All inmates of the jail should be medically examined to ensure early > detection of any serious ailment and proper medical attention be provided > accordingly. > > > > > > Released to the Press by Pramodini Pradhan, Convenor, People’s Union for > Civil Liberties (PUCL), Bhubaneswar on 22nd April, 2010 > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "humanrights movement" group. > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en. > -- K.G. KANNABIRAN Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties Plot 300, Street 6, E. Marredpalli Secunderabad 500 026, AP Phone: 040-27730632 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
