on 20 January 1994. Amnesty International also reported this incident in a publication
brought out by it in March 1994.
On the basis of evidence of Shri Rashid, an inmate of the same lock up, the
Commission noted that Udayan was beaten up a couple of hours before his suicide
in the Sub Inspector's room as also when he was being brought back to his cell. The
Commission was of the view that the torture to which Udayan was 5ubjected by the
police in the lockup contributed to his committing suicide. The omm mission recommended that:
I. A case should be registered against the police officials responsible for
torturing Udayan and that they should be prosecuted with utmost expedition.
Payment of compensation of at least Rs, 1,00,000/to the family of Udayan.
/
Accordingly compensation of Rs. 1,00,0001- has been paid to the family of
Udayan. The Home Department, Government of Kerala has asked the Director General
of Police, Kerala to register a case against the police officers responsible for torturing
Udayan.
(vii)
Custodial death of Shri Babulal Dhaniwal, Alias Bablu Roy in Assam
On 20 June, 1995 the officer in charge of Bihaguir Outpost under Sonitpur District
alongwith some other police personnel took into custody one Babul Rai alias Dhaniwal
alongwith six others whiIe they had assembled in the house of one Jagannath to attend
a dinner. They brought all the seven persons to the outpost. The police personnel
reportedly tortured Babul Rai and others to extort a confession regarding a theft of a
fan and thereafter put all the persons in a police lock up. The following morning, at
about 04.00 AM, Babul Rai was found dead in the police lock up. The magisterial
enquiry confirmed the fact that Babul Rai had died in the lock up due to physical torture
by the police personnel. The post mortem report showed no external injury and the
cause of death was not ascertainable as indicated therein. In the report of Deputy
Secretary, Political (A) Department dated 12 September, 1995 it was stated that
departmental proceedings had been drawn up against police personnel and they had
been suspended.
On Commission's intervention, the State furnished the report of the magisterial enquiry where the magistrate has observed that he had come to the