Skip to main content

Custodial death of Muslim youth: Govt of India told to ratify UN convention on torture

Counterview Desk 
Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), Hooghly, West Bengal, in a representation to the chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has drawn to the custodial death of a Muslim youth following his torture in police custody after registering a "false case" based on manufactured records.
Seeking "proper investigation" the whole incident, Roy in his plea insists, the incident legitimizes his organisations' long-standing demand "for immediate ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment."

Text:

Here I want to draw your kind attention to one incident of custodial torture by the Deganga police personnel and the subsequent custodial death of one Muslim man from the Other Backward Class community in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home.
The name of the victim is Kutubuddin Mondal, son of late Ahamed Mondal, resided at Kharua Chandpur village under the jurisdiction of Deganga Police Station in the district of North 24 Parganas. This incident again proves how the perpetrator's police and jail authority is enjoying full impunity even after being responsible for the custodial death of a victim and irresponsible attitude toward the family members of the victim.
In this incident, the victim was allegedly falsely charged in a case of the Arms Act. He was arrested on April 5, 2022 at about 12.30 am from his own house by police personnel of Deganga Police Station. No memo of arrest was prepared during the time of arrest of Kutubuddin.
In the police custody at Deganga Police station, the victim was brutally tortured and mercilessly beaten by the perpetrator police personnel. From police custody, he was transferred to Dum Dum Central Correctional Home on April 5, 2022 following the direction of the court.
His health condition deteriorated and for this reason, he was sent to the SSKM Hospital. The victim died on April 11, 2022 at about 4.10 pm in the SSKM hospital. In the following fact finding, I'll narrate the details of the incident in this respect.
The family members of the victim were not informed when his health condition deteriorated and even after his death. On April 12, 2022 at about 10 am one civic volunteer of Deganga Police Station came to the house of the victim and informed Kutubuddin died on April 11, 2022 at about 4.10 pm at SSKM Hospital. That means the family members were informed after 18 hours of the death of the victim.
Bhawanipur Police Station initiated an unnatural death case (case number 436/22 dated April 13, 2022). After two days of the victim’s death, an unnatural death case was registered. The process of the inquest was not done in the right way. After two days after the victim’s death, the inquest was done by one magistrate.
The family members of the victim were not sure of the actual designation of the magistrate but they informed that the said magistrate did not examine the deceased, just took note of the details of the victim and went away. This is a violation of section 174/176(1)(A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
There is a confusion regarding the date of death of the victim. Our fact finding member talked with Bhawanipur Police Station. Bhawanipur police informed that on April 12, 2022 at about 4.10 pm Kutubuddin Mondal died in SSKM Hospital.
If we take this information as true, then how the civic volunteer of Deganga police station came and informed the family members of the victim about the death of Kutubuddin on April 12, 2022 at 10 am? If Kutubuddin died on April 12, 2022 at about 4.10 pm, then why the unnatural death case (Bhawanipur PS U/D case number 436/22 dated April 13, 2022) was registered on the next day i.e, on April 13, 2022?
On April 14, 2022 Ruma Bibi, wife of the victim lodged one written complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Barasat Police District regarding the above-stated incident but till date, no action has been taken against the perpetrators. Even the complainant is unaware whether her complaint was treated as FIR or not.
This again violates section 154 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure where it is mandated for mandatory registration of FIR after receiving any information of cognizable offences and without any cost provides one copy of FIR to the complainant.
The incident proves how police and jail authorities enjoy full impunity even after being responsible for the custodial death of a victim
The involved perpetrators violated the basic premise of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as well as Articles 3, 5 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international obligations stated in Article 6 (1) and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the Goal number 16 of Sustainable Development Goal earmarked by United Nations and in both these international instruments; the government of India is a party and have an agreement.
The incident and subsequent impunity legitimize our long-standing demand for immediate ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment.
I demand:
  • This case should be investigated by the investigation wing of NHRC or state CID.
  • The erring police personnel of Deganga Police station and other police personnel related to this case who tortured the victim mercilessly in the police custody and tried to hide the truth of the case must be booked under appropriate legal provisions and be tried in an open court of law.
  • The Unnatural Death case initiated by Bhawanipur Police Station on April 13, 2022 must be investigated properly under the appropriate penal provision.
  • CCTV footage of police custody of Deganga Police Station on April 5, 2022 from 12.00 to 10.00 am should be checked by your Commission.
  • Jail hospital records, SSKM Hospital records and Inspection Memo and Memo of Arrest should be scrutinized properly.
  • Disciplinary action should be taken against the concerned magistrate who without examining the body of the deceased just note down the details of the victim.
  • Written complaint of Ruma Bibi, wife of the victim, dated April 14, 2022 must be treated as an FIR and the perpetrators should be arrested for the sake of proper investigation of the case.
  • As this case is in nature of systematic violation of criminal justice administration of West Bengal, the role performed by them should be checked thoroughly.
  • NHRC’s ‘Revised Guidelines/ Procedures to be followed in courses of deaths caused in police action’ must be adhered to in letter and spirit.
  • The family must be provided with financial compensation and adequate safety and security of the family members and witnesses must be ensured.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram*   When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.
Post a Comment
»

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.
59 comments
»

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan*  “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.
Post a Comment
»

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández  The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.
Post a Comment
»

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

​ By Ram Puniyani  ​The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue. 
Post a Comment
»

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".
51 comments
»

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos  The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...
1 comment
»

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar*  Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement. 
Post a Comment
»

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey*  ​In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.
Post a Comment
»