COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Highest compensation awarded to police brutality victim

Terming the custodial death of a youth in Balia district of Uttar Pradesh as 'politically motivated' and an instance of police highhandedness at its worst, the National Human Rights Commission has recommended the biggest-ever interim compensation of Rs 500,000 to the victim's father.

The Commission also asked the state government to provide adequate security for the victim's family and a job for a suitable relative on compassionate grounds, sources said.

Because of political differences between his father and a local politician belonging to the ruling party, the youth, Atal Bihari Mishra, was dragged to the police station on ''fictitious and frivolous'' charges and was mercilessly roughed up.

The Commission ruled that unless appropriate punishment was meted out to officers responsible for this kind of dastardly crime, it would be difficult to contain and control custodial deaths.

The NHRC initially received a report from the superintendent of police, Balia district, on the custodial death in 1995. It also received a joint petition from Shireesh Chander Dixit, MP, and Uttar Pradesh legislative council member Vina Pande. The matter was also raised in Parliament by former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, the MP from Balia, who urged the government to refer the case to the Commission.

Chandra Shekhar said he had met the youth's family who belonged to a village one-and-a-half-kilometre away from his own. He learnt that the youth, an MA student, was returning to his village along with his elder brother when the police asked if they had thrown bombs. The elder brother panicked and fled, but the youth was caught and brutally beaten.

The former prime minister said the kind of torture meted out to the youth was unparalleled. The police had registered a false case against the youth's family and arrested them.

Taking cognisance of the complaint, the Commission asked its investigation wing to probe the incident. The investigation brought out startling and extremely disturbing facts against the police. The state crime investigation department also undertook an investigation and confirmed that Misra had been killed by the police. A prosecution was ordered against the police officers involved.

As there was prima facie evidence to prove that the youth died as a result of police violence which was not justified, the Commission issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to show cause why a reasonable interim compensation should not be awarded to the family members.

The notice was issued on September 4 this year, granting four weeks time to respond. As the state government failed to respond to the show-cause notice, the commission recommended the biggest-ever compensation on the assumption that the state government has no cause to show against the claim.

Misra's elder brother had sought a compensation of Rs 2.5 million on the ground that his 26-year-old sibling was a bright-student and a future career held out bright hopes of success and achievement. He also sought protection for the family and employment to one of its members on compassionate grounds.

''Having regard to the young age of Atal Bihari Misra at the time of his death and to the probable money value of his future assistance by way of service and earnings to the family, the (compensation) figure should be substantially higher,'' the Commission said.

''But the Commission is only recommending the award of a sum by way of an interim compensation subject to the private law rights of the dependents to bring an appropriate legal action for damages in which event the sum awarded by way of interim compensation becomes adjustable,'' the order added.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report