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ShareNew Delhi: As many as 1,184 people were killed in police custody in India in the last eight years with Maharashtra topping the chart with 192 deaths, a report said Thursday.
The report, Torture in India 2009, by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) released here on Thursday, said most of the victims were killed as a result of torture within the first 48 hours of being taken into custody.
The report is based on data collected from April 1, 2001, to March 31, 2009, through a right to information (RTI) plea filed with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
"These deaths in custody do not, however, represent the actual number of deaths in police custody in India. Further, deaths in the custody of the armed forces and the Indian Army under the control of the central government are not reported to the NHRC," ACHR director Suhas Chakma said.
He said the NHRC does not have jurisdiction to investigate violations committed by the armed forces under section 19 of the Human Rights Protection Act, 1993, and guidelines on reporting custodial deaths within 24 hours continue to be flouted.
According to the report, the highest number of 192 custodial deaths were reported in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, where 128 and 85 people died in police custody, respectively.
The report said the high number of deaths in custody exposes the abject failure of the 1996 judgment of the Supreme Court in the DK Basu case, which lays down the procedures to be followed while making arrests.
"The Prevention of Torture Bill, 2008, being brought by the government of India is a sham. The bill contains only three operative paragraphs relating to definition of torture, punishment for torture, and limitations for cognizance of offences," Chakma said.
