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Despite assuarnces by the Law Minister and the Home Minister, the Parliament session has ended without the Congress government tabling the Nanavati Commission report on the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms. The report was submitted to the Home Minister on February 9, but the government has been in no hurry to table it in Parliament. “Nanavati commission […]

Woman tortured by police

May 15, 2005 | Comments Off on Woman tortured by police

Reshma, a seventeen-year old brick kiln worker from Teja Bhatt village in Patiala, was tortured by police after she was picked up for questioning relating to her sister’s murder. On May 7, Reshma was picked up by police during their investigation of the sudden death of Kamlesh, her older sister. The police then electrically shocked […]

Narain Singh reports torture and discrimination by jailers

May 15, 2005 | Comments Off on Narain Singh reports torture and discrimination by jailers

In a press conference on May 10, Narain Singh Chaura accused Burail Jail officials of physically and mentally torturing those under trial, especially Sikh and Punjabi prisoners, and of showing disrespect for the Guru Granth Sahib. Narain Singh Chaura, a Sikh social and political activist, is accused of involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak, and […]

The government has submitted the charge sheet and service book of SS Virk, Punjab Director General of Police, to the High Court. The court had requested the record because of a petition filed by Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann. His petition challenges the appointment of SS Virk to the post of Punjab Director […]

To fulfill its pledge to prevent violence like that of the 2002 Gujarat pogroms from recurring, the Gujarat government has proposed the Communal Violence (Suppression) Bill, 2005. This bill grants the government wide powers to respond to communal violence, including the power to arrest and search without a warrant. The bill also increases the punishment […]

Human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz stated in a press conference on April 30 that the Indian army and the Jammu and Kashmir government are conspiring to kill him. Parvez Imroz has worked to document human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indian security forces and the Kashmiri army. He is the founder and director of the […]

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 […]