Four UN special rapporteurs have asked the Indian government to investigate the alleged torture and custodial killings of several Muslim men since January 2019.
A report was sent to the Indian government on May 4 over the continued deterioration of human rights conditions in the occupied valley of Kashmir, documenting several cases of arbitrary detentions, violations to the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and rights of persons belonging to minorities. “We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing human rights violations,” said the report shared on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR).
The officials called on New Delhi to conduct an impartial investigation into all the allegations of arbitrary killings, torture and ill-treatment and to prosecute suspected perpetrators. “We express grave concern at the alleged excessive use of force, torture and other forms of ill-treatment reportedly committed during the arrest and detention and death in custody of the […] persons,” the rapporteurs said.
Citing over a dozen cases of custodial torture, the report said, “They appear to be targeted based on their ethnicity and/or religious identities.” It further said that arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment led to the deaths of victims in at least four cases. Among these cases is the death of Rizwan Pandit, a 29-year-old teacher who died in police custody on March 19 last year. The report, quoting Pandit’s preliminary autopsy report, said he died of bleeding caused by multiple injuries. “He allegedly had torture marks on his corpse but the autopsy report was never made public,” it said.
The UN officials said New Delhi did not reply to the report within the stipulated 60-day period that ended this month. They also expressed regret that they had received no response to two earlier communications sent to the Indian government on August 16, 2019 and February 27 this year.
