May
2
Narain Singh Released: Recounts torture by police
May 2, 2005 | Comments Off on Narain Singh Released: Recounts torture by police
Narain Singh Chaura, accused of involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak, was released on bail last week. Confirming his lawyers statements a year ago, Narain Singh reported that police tortured him with electrical shocks about 200 times while he was in their custody.
In January 2004, the police accused Narain Singh Chaura of organizing the jailbreak of three men accused of the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Chaura was then illegally detained by the police and severely tortured. (See our February 5 and February 9 posts for more detail.) He recently described how he was treated by police after his arrest:
‘‘I was also left hanging upside down and beaten up mercilessly. If this remains the way the police treat undertrials, I am afraid there will be more rebels against the system,’’
‘‘Honestly speaking, the government just wanted to harass me for no fault of mine. First, the police tortured me brutally after my arrest, and then I was lodged in the jail for about 15 months.’’
The police eventually abandoned their search for the escapees. The father of one of the escapees filed a petition claiming that his son was extrajudicially executed by the police; this petition was dismissed.
On April 16, 2005, Chaura and the other accused were finally granted bail.
His lawyer said, ‘‘The administration’s role in the investigations in the case has been questionable from the beginning, starting from their 10,000-page challan and then the denial of bail till the last moment. My client would seek compensation.’’
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.