There are some lawless areas in India. Police can do anything including an encounter. If police takes away your relative or a friend on grounds suspicion, there are few things you can do, depending on situation.
1. Be Practical
Find some contact in police department and try to sort out thing.
2. Go to lawyer.
Act as per his advice. Move such application as he may suggest.
3. Put a Telegram to Head of The Police Station
Inform him that your relative/friend named ____ has been taken away by police from place____ at time _____ on Date_______. And then request that Sub-Inspector or whoever is competent, may take your friend to Registered Medical Practitioner to get his body checked so that evidence of torture or physical beating by police can be collected under provisions Sec.53 and 54 of Code of Criminal Procedure. Also ask him when they propose to produce him before Magistrate or whether he is going to be released by police.
Importance of such telegram: It Creates a Paper Trail of Evidence. It is evidence about (1) Time when your friend was taken away (2) Evidence that you requested for medical examination under Sec.53,54 of Cr.P.C. (3) You can get a certified copy of telegram from Telegraph office, to produce later in court.
The Police may ignore the telegram and may still beat or torture your friend. But that is not in your hand. The Law will take its course. With copy of telegram, you will get power to complain against torture if it is actually done. The purpose of telegram is a) To create a evidence b) To warn police authorities that if torture is done, they may have to explain to court what they did after receiving telegram.
4. Go Mad (Unconventional Remedies)
This is an extreme option. You can go mad and can send 10 or 100 telegrams to Authorities or persons whom you think fit.(I.e. District judge, District Collector, MP, MLA, Chief Justice, PM, etc etc) Each telegram will be an evidence if there is custodial death or too much torture. Use this method sparingly. Reactions could be highly unpredictable and unfavourable also. This is a remedy for person who has lost all hope in system.
5 Caution
Your lawyer, who may be experienced in such matter, may help you to move application before Magistrate or to High Court or for bail, whatever he may think fit in factual situation.
Telegram Remedies have sometimes worked and sometimes not worked. Sometimes they have been counter productive. Some lawyer may say Sec.53 or 54 are not applicable at this stage.
But the point is, what else can you do? If some one points out a better way to handle situation, please do that. The aim is to ensure safety of person who is taken away by police without any warrant of court.
Haresh Raichura
24th May,2012
