From: vtg1714@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Viswanath Tirupattur )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Lock-up Deaths in Andhra Pradesh
Date: 18 Aug 92 21:17:04 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana


Lock-up deaths (death of people detained and kept under police custody for
alleged crimes) are among the most blatant human rights abuses by the state.  
The following is a summary of the deaths of suspected criminals under police
custody in Andhra Pradesh during 1984-89, compiled by the A.P. Civil Liberties
Committee (APCLC) from the records of the state police.  Please note that these
pertain to "suspected" criminals.  Regardless of the nature of the crime, 
any suspect is innocent unless proven otherwise, as per the Indian constitution.Any violence by the police in the process of investigation is not only illegal
but also a violation of one of the fundamantal rights guarenteed under the 
Indian constitution (section 20(3)).  Further, under the Indian Penal Code,
(sections 348, 330, 331), illegal detention and violence under custody is a 
serious offence punishable with sentences ranging from 3-10 years of rigorous
imprisonment.  It is against this background that we must view these lock-up
deaths.  

During the period of January 1984 - April 1989, there have been 108 cases of
deaths under police custody that have been reported.  Table below details the
allged crimes under which these people have been detained.  
	 

		Alleged crime                    No. detained
		-------------                    ------------
		Murder                               09
		Dacoitry                             04
		Sexual crimes                        01
		Abduction                            03
		Theft                                30
		Injury to others                     12
		Miscellaneous
		(gambling, prostitution,
		 causing nuisance etc)               24
                Links with Naxalites                 07
		Arrest under suspicion               06
		Arrest without any allegation        12

		Total                               108

If we consider murder, dacoitry, sexual crimes and abduction as being serious
crimes, of the 108 people that died under police custody only 17 (16 %) were
those that were accused of serious crimes and all the rest who dies were those
arrested for petty crimes.  

Table below shows the break-up of professions to which th 108 dead belonged to
at the time of their arrest.  

	       Profession                      No. detained 
	       ----------                      ------------
	       Professionals
	       (doctors, engineers,
		salaried employees)                05
               Farmers including farm labourers    21
	       Factory labourers and workers       37
	       Other self employed                 09
	       Old criminals                       06
	       Political workers                   05
	       Students                            07
	       Others                              13
	       Profession not known                05

	       Total                              108

It is clear that a great majority of the dead were from economically weaker 
sections of the society.  Even though caste wise break-up of the dead is not
available, APCLC sources reveal that a vast majority belonged to the socially
disadvantaged castes.

Police usually ascribe the causes for the lock-up deaths as - suicide and    
natural death due to illness.  Not surprisingly, these two reasons show up
as the major causes given by the police for these 108 deaths as well.  Table
below gives a detailed break-up of the causes of these 108 deaths under 
police custody as claimed by the police.  

	       Cause of death (as claimed)       No. detained
	       ---------------------------       ------------

	       Use of force by the police             01
	       Accidental death                       04
	       Killed by the mobs                     03
	       Death during attempted escape          07
	       Excessive drinking                     07
	       Ill health                             38
	       Suicide                                30
	       No reason given                        18

	       Total                                 108


Note that of the 108 people that died in custody, only one is claimed by
the police as being the result of use of force by the police and as many
as 68 due to ill health and suicide!  The connivance of other 
functionaries such as the medical officer and revenue divisonal officer,
both of whom are required to certify the statement that lists the cause of
the death shows that the malice is deep rooted and extends beyond the police
system.                             

Of the 108 deaths during period, judicial investigation has been launched only
in 12 cases, despite a promise by the state government that all lock-up deaths
will under go a judicial enquiry.                 


Vishwanath
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian