Custodial violence, or prisoner abuse as it is more commonly called, is the torture or killing of inmates by persons acting in an official capacity. That definition sounds broad enough to cover unjust treatment of criminals, but the sort of wrongdoing that qualifies as custodial violence has a startlingly narrow legal definition. Rape and torture are the two common manifestations of custodial violence which may turn out to be fatal and cause death.
The Custodial Violence in India report aims to provide an overview of custodial death and its collateral damage, as well as a crash course on the law.
Between 2001 and 2018, a total of 1,727 persons have died in police custody including those in judicial remand and those who have been arrested but not yet produced before the court.
Custodial death is the death of an individual under the custody (actual or constructive) of government officials with or without the support of law enforcement personnel which includes police officers, prison guards, border control, immigration officials, and other law enforcement agency personnel.
The impunity enjoyed by the police isn't just in cases of custodial deaths. Human rights violations by the police are a systemic problem in India. 75% of the people who died in police custody were tortured.
Apart from custodial deaths, more than 2,000 human rights violation cases were also recorded against the police between 2000 and 2018. And only 344 policemen were convicted in those cases.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) maintains a database of cases recorded against the police. Also, what the NCRB doesn’t record is perhaps even worse. The bureau neither has data on the number of missing persons nor is it aware of those who have been killed in staged encounters.
The National Crime Records Bureau, abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL).
NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. The current Director of NCRB is Ramphal Pawar (IPS).
Custodial violence is a gross violation of human rights. Yet there is no effective law in India that curbs custodial torture.
Custodial violence in India is a major challenge that exemplifies the gap between rhetoric and practice. Custodial violence represents a violation of the rule of law, and negates the basic principle of a fair trial.
The alarming increase in custodial torture has been a major cause for concern. It is evident from the data that such incidents are not isolated but a pattern of gross violation of human rights by the law enforcement agencies.
The prison system as we have in India today is a legacy passed on by the British Raj. The highly bureaucratic system in place only serves to disrupt the criminal justice administration.
Jails in India are overpopulated with a higher proportion of undertrials and convicts whose trials have delayed due to the slow-paced and fragile criminal justice system.
The rising number of prisoners and overcrowding of these prisons are leading to grave concerns. The crime rate in India has increased with many factors including population, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and political factors.
Riots, strikes, and anti-government revolts are common occurrences in prisons which shows the poor conditions of the prison and the need for urgent prison reforms.
The prison has failed to reflect the dignity of crime which is one of the basic rights of prisoners. Even those who do not indulge in violence often develop a violent mindset due to their poor living conditions.