PUCL,
November 2003
Complaint to the NHRC -
Police raid on People's Watch premises
-- By Henri Tiphagne
People's Watch - Tamil Nadu
No.6, Vallabai Road, Chokkikulam, Madurai - 625 002.
Phone: 0452-2531874 & 2539520 Fax: 0452- 2531874
E.mail: henritiphagne@eth.net , henri@satyam.net.in
Police
search People's Watch office
November 05, 2003
Justice Dr. A.S.Anand,
Hon’ble Chairperson,
National Human Rights Commission,
Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi 110 001.
Respected Sir,
Sub: “Search” of premises of People’s Watch – Tamil Nadu by police under a “letter” from Judicial Magistrate, Sivakasi – Non adherence to statutory procedures - Allegation of veiled threat – Urge protection and action - Regarding.
I serve as the Executive Director of People’s Watch – Tamil
Nadu (PW-TN), a program unit of the Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns.
I also serve the National Human Rights Commission of India as a member
of its National Core Group on NGOs constituted two years ago. PW-TN particularly
works in the State of Tamil Nadu in the field of Human Rights Monitoring,
Intervention and Education. Its activities often demands it to deal with
a number of cases involving police excesses. On 27th and 28th October
2003the organisation was instrumental in processing several cases indicating
very serious human rights violations and gross negligence of duty on the
part of the Tamil Nadu Police in 2 of the 3 historic public hearings conducted
under the aegis of the National Commission for Women and the Tamil Nadu
State Commission for Women – on 27th October 2003 at Virudhunagar
and on 28th October 2003 at Madurai I was personally warned by some very
senior police officers who were present because of our efforts to present
such gruesome cases of police excess, sometimes even involving custodial
rape, oral sex, kidnapping of children of witnesses, etc.
Against this background of a Public Hearing which saw over 150 policemen
present from all ranks upto the rank of ADGP, this morning (5th November
2003) there has been a very serious “search” that has taken
place in our office. I was present in the office at 5.00 a.m. this morning
having come to complete a lot of pending work. Around 7.30 a.m. my receptionist
(ours is a 24 hours office so that any telephone calls and petitions from
public can be received throughout the day and night) informed me that
a few policemen had entered the compound. Sitting in my room, I asked
him to kindly request them to come to my room. In a minute he came back
stating that he was able to see several police vans and several police
men and women in uniform descending into the compound and running in various
directions. I identified an officer who should have been a DSP, but who
identified himself on two different occasions with two different names,
namely Sivaraman and Saravanan, stating that they were authorised by an
order of the Judicial Magistrate, Sivakasi to search our premises for
some accused involved in an offence U/S. 397 in Crime No. 129/2003 of
M.Pudupatti police station within the jurisdiction of Sivakasi taluk of
Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu.
I asked him to produce a copy of the same to me which he promised, but he did not. Before I could continue to ask for the formal production of any legal papers such a search warrant, the police placed themselves in the compound and in various parts of the building claiming to look for the accused that they were allegedly “searching” for. I therefore had no other go but accompany this DSP who did not have a name tag on himself – Almost all the police, men and women, from the rank of DSP to Constables who were present were in uniform with their rank identities but without their name tags or their numbers. They also refused to mention their names. The whole “search” of the building was accompanied by very intensive “videography” involving 2 police videographers who were more interested in capturing everything in the office through their videographic expedition. The whole process was witnessed by one Mr. Mohan, Tahsildar, Madurai South Taluk who is known to me and who categorically informed me that he was not informed that he was coming to these premises. Having completed their “search” they requested me to sign on the magazar, a copy of which they refused to provide me, which I signed at 9.11 a.m., wherein I endorsed that no accused was found in the premises.
I also made an endorsement in the little space provided that many of
the policemen did not have their name tags. I then received the unsigned
magazar without getting a copy of the letter from the Judicial Magistrate
duly attested by the person to whom it was addressed. Both the DSPs present,
categorically refused to give me the attested copy and it took me a long
time to convince Mr. A.C. Vellaiyan, the Inspector of Police, Thiruthangal
police station to formally attest and provide me a xerox copy of a letter
from Mr. Abraham Lincoln, Judicial Magistrate, Sivakasi under D. no. nil
dated 05,.11.2003 (the search was being carried out on 05.11.2003 between
7.30 a.m. and 9.11 a.m.) and hand it over to me.
While their search was coming continuing the DSP conducting the “search”
claimed (DSP, Sivakasi) (the other DSP present being the Sattur DSP) that
they were on the look out for one Mr. Muthukumar and Ms. Rajalakshmi in
connection with the above mentioned cases. After their departure and once
my office staff had arrived at 10.00 a.m., I was informed by my human
rights monitoring staff that the previous day on 4th November 2003 one
Mr. K.Muthukumar giving an address in Rajapalayam of Virudhunagar district
had sent a fax around noon from Chennai, alleging that some persons were
being detained illegally in Sivakasi gown police station. Having received
this fax, our Zonal Monitoring Associate Mr. Arumugam had been urged to
intervene immediately in the matter and he in turn had directed our Regional
Monitoring Associate Mr. Pandian, a Post Graduate in Social Work to look
into the matter. The said Pandian has also met Mr. Vellaiyan, the Inspector
of Police, Thiruthangal police station on 4th who was the only Inspector
with a name tag during the “search” this morning. From the
above facts, it becomes evidence that this “search” is likely
to be an attempt to thwart any attempts by PW-TN in this case.
While the search did not bear any fruit whatsoever, the night staff also
informed me that at 1.30 a.m. in the night, a person wearing a lungi and
brown colour shirt (who also accompanied the police search party this
morning and claimed himself to be a Sub-Inspector of Police – no
names were identified) knocked at the gate of PW-TN in the night asking
for the Director (myself). The staff who did not know the identity of
the person asked him to come in the morning or if it was urgent to speak
to me over telephone. The same person accompanied the search party during
the “search”.
PW-TN would like to place these facts before this Hon’ble Commission
as they stand and is pleased to send enclosed a copy of the letter from
the Judicial Magistrate as well as the communication it has received as
fax yesterday in the morning. We however wish also to point out that the
said letter from the Judicial Magistrate is dated 05.11.2003 while police
entered PW-TN around 7.30 a.m. which indicates that this letter which
bears no D.No., but is dated 05.11.2003 should have, if authentic, have
been issued by the Judicial Magistrate, before 5.30 a.m. this morning.
PW-TN would not like to rush to any conclusion at this stage but however,
as a Human Rights Defender governed by the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders of 1998 would like to place on record the above facts so that
the Hon’ble Commission may take necessary steps to ensure that the
genuine efforts of Human Rights Defenders and Human Rights Organisations
are not thwarted whenever such organisations and Defenders take necessary
steps to uphold the rule of law. The several cases that PW-TN has undertaken
in Courts at the district level, at the High Court, in the Supreme Court,
before State/National Human Rights Institutions and the UN have been very
badly received by law enforcement officials who do not respect the rule
of law. We therefore appeal to take necessary action upon this communication
to ensure that we continue to be provided the due protection of law and
no interference from law enforcement officials under the guise of such
“searches”
We thank you for this opportunity of patiently going through this long
representation and assure your goodself that I on my personal behalf and
PW-TN as a Human Rights Organisation will continue to uphold the sanctity
of Human Rights in its true spirit and never let down the thousands of
victims who have benefited and continue to benefit from our unrelenting
actions on their behalf. We however recognise who we are, in the scenario
of violations that we live and therefore appeal to you to provide us the
protection that you can within the parameters of law so that we continue
within the mandate that the Constitution has provided us, unhindered and
unhesitant. We are also providing you as attachment, a typed copy of the
letter from the Judicial Magistrate, a true copy of which was provided
to us and the English translation of the fax that was received by our
office on 04.11.2003 and a few photographs that we have managed to capture
during the “search” of the premises.
We look forward to hearing from you in this regard.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
(HENRI TIPHAGNE)
Executive Director, People’s Watch – Tamil Nadu and
Member, National Core Group on NGOs of NHRC
Encl:
1. Copy of letter dt. 05.11.2003 issued
by the Judicial Magistrate, Sivakasi
2. Fax received from Mr. K. Muthukumar
on 04.11.2003
3. Photos of the “Search”. (See at top)