Muslim couple in Bokaro, Jharkhand allege “custodial torture,” police refute allegations

A Muslim couple in Bokaro, Jharkhand has alleged that they were tortured by police while in custody over allegations of theft against them. | Picture: Twitter


A Muslim couple in Bokaro, Jharkhand has alleged that they were tortured by police while in custody over allegations of theft against them. While the Minority Welfare Minister, a member of Parliament, and several right’s activists have demanded an investigation into the matter, the police have refuted the allegations of torture. 

Sami Ahmad | TwoCircles.net 

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JHARKHAND — “The police tied my legs and hands and started beating me. I was hit on my sole with sticks and the nails of both my feet were plucked. They beat me brutally at regular intervals. I was released on the next day afternoon after the intervention of a local Mukhiya. If no action is taken against the SHO Nutan Modi and the rest of police staff involved, I will self-immolate along with other family members,” said 47-year-old teacher Amanat Hussain from Makhdumpur, which falls under Balidih police station of Jharkhand’s Bokaro district, some 120 kilometres North-East of the state capital Ranchi. 

Amanat alleged that he was tortured on allegations of theft at his neighbour Yunus Hashmi’s house on December 15. Hashmi was away from home and he had requested Amanat to sleep at his house while he was away. However, Amanat had fallen sick and couldn’t spend the night at Hashmi’s house on December 15—the night the theft took place. 

As per Amanat, fifteen days after the incident as police were unable to catch the culprits, they called him to the police station, where he was tortured. He has recounted the ‘police torture’ in a letter addressed to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Bokaro.

Letter written by Amanat to SP Bokaro, Jharkhand.

When the matter was raised by the Minority Welfare Minister Hafizul Hassan and Dhanbad M.P. Pashupati Nath Singh—the Superintendent of Police of Bokaro Chandan Kumar Jha constituted a team led by Dy.S.P. Mukesh Kumar to investigate this case and file a report within three days. Dy. S.P. Mukesh visited the house of Amanat on January 3 to record his statement. 

Hafizul Hassan had tagged @bokaropolice on Twitter and asked them to take cognizance of this episode and ensure appropriate action after investigation. M.P. Singh has written to D.I.G. Bokaro asking for necessary action in this matter. 

Rawshan Jahan, daughter of Amanat Hussain told TwoCircles.net over the phone that they received a phone call around 8 p.m. on December 30, asking her father to reach Balidih police station. “My father was threatened to be picked up when he pleaded if he could go there the next day. So, he went there with my mother Sarwari Begam and uncle Moharram Ansari,” Rawshan, a B.A. student, said. 

When TwoCircles.net contacted Balidih SHO’s official phone number, the number was switched off. 

Dy. S.P. Mukesh Kumar, who is heading the investigation in this matter, told TwoCircles.net that Amanat has been named as a suspect. 

Dy. S.P. refused to divulge details of the allegations of torture by Balidih police. In the F.I.R. filed by Yunus Hashmi, the accused is/are unnamed.

In the letter addressed to Bokaor S.P. Amanat says, “As I reached the police station I was locked in a room and later my wife too was locked there. I was replying to the questions being asked by the SHO Nutan Modi and other police staff. Suddenly the became violent and started verbally abusing me in the filthiest words. My wife Sabra Begam was also tortured and she was dragged by her hairs.”

Amanat further alleges that he was asked to pay a bribe to get absolved in this case. “The SHO threatened me that he will implicate me under serious charges,” Amanat says in the letter. 

He writes that as the police were unable to catch the real culprit, he is being forced to confess to a crime he didn’t commit. 

SHO Nutan Modi has dismissed the allegations levelled by Amanat. She has called the allegations false and said that he (Amanat) was not tortured. 

She alleged that police found his call details suspicious, and “He (Amanat) is making these statements to mislead the police.” 

M.S. Hussain, a local social activist from the area, told TwoCircles.net that the police is trying to hush up the case. 

He alleges that “the SHO, who is accused of torture, is being protected.” 

“The injury report by the local hospital has been diluted,” he said, adding that “A team of Marxist Coordination Committee would meet the civil surgeon for a proper injury report.” 

Amanat’s daughter Rawshan has taken to Twitter to demand justice for her father. She has released a video message on her Twitter handle requesting the state’s chief minister Sita Soren to help and ensure action against the erring police officials. She alleges the SHO and local officials are conspiring against them. 

She also addressed a tweet to Sita Soren, the chairperson of Jharkhand Women and Children Development, Jharkhand Assembly alleging police torture against her parents.

A team of activists of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Jharkhand Loktantrik Morcha (JLM) visited the victim’s house on January 4. 

After meeting the victim family, Convener of JLM Ashok Varma told TwoCircles.net that “this is a case of custodial torture totally violating the norms of Supreme Court.”

“We found out that Amanat is considered a gentle person by everyone in his place. Even the complainant of the case Yunus Hashmi said that he was shocked by how police treated Amanat,” Varma said. 

APCR team visiting the victim family at their village in Jharkhand.

State president of APCR Razaul Ansari demanded that the family should be compensated in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines. 

Tamanna Begam, In-Charge of the Women-Wing of APCR, asked how can Amanat’s wife be detained and “tortured”, “when the Supreme Court guidelines clearly state that no woman can be detained after the sunset and before the sunrise.” 

Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb. 

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