Complaints before the Commission also the post-mortem report. Having considered the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of the undertrial prisoner in custody, the Commission was prima facie of the view that the deceased was wrongfully confined in the police station and was not produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours. It further held that the death was probably the result of, or at least precipitated by, custodial violence, which could be presumed to have occurred in the circumstances of the case. As there was a prima facie case of torture and unlawful confinement, the Commission ordered the payment of immediate interim relief of Rs. 50,000/- to the dependents of the deceased, and also the initiation of appropriate departmental action against the errant police officials for inflicting torture on the person of the deceased and for wrongful confinement. COMMENT Custodial violence is an unacceptable abuse of pcwer and a serious violation of human rights by those whose duty is to protect the law. It violates Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the Fundamental Right to life and liberty. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Pblitical Rights (ICCPR), also assert that every person has the right to life, liberty and security and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life. Further, Article 5 of the Universal Declaration and Article 7 of the Covenant on Civil and ftilitical Rights lay down explicitly, that no one shall be subjected to torture; or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (C) FAKE ENCOUNTERS Killing of four persons in a fake encounter by the police: Uttar Pradesh (Case No. 12235/24/98-99) Shri Parma Lai Yadav, a resident of Village Daulatiya, District Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, alleged, first by means of a telegram dated 19 October 1998. and then through a longer complaint, that his son Cm Prakash and three others had t>een killed by the police in a fake encounter on 17 October 1998. The SP, Sant Ravi Das Nagar, through a communication dated 18 October 1998, also informed the Commission that four criminals had been killed in an encounter with the police in the area of the Bhadoi police station, on 17 October 1998. It was reported that secret information had been received by the police that, on 17 October 1998, one Dhanjay Singh, a dreaded criminal carrying a reward of Rs. 50,000/- on his head, would commit a dacoity at the petrol pump of one Satyanarayan Harsh on the Mirzapur-Bhadoi Road. Accordingly, Shri Akhilanand Misra, Circle Officer, Bhadoi, constituted three teams to track down the criminals and proceeded to the spot. At about 11.30 am, the police found four persons coming towards the petrol pump, who, on seeing the police party, ran away and took shelter in the nearby bushes. They indiscriminately started 109