Human Rights Activist Sodomised in Delhi's Tihar Jail

‘ICRC doesn’t report what they see’
Courtesy: Daily Rising Kashmir dt July 19th, 2009 by Ishfaq Tantry
Srinagar, July 18: Narrating the inhuman torture meted out to Kashmiris languishing in Tihar jail, human rights activist Mohammad Ahsan Untoo who was arrested by special Cell of Delhi Police in 2005 and released recently alleged he was even “sodomised” in Tihar jail.“Police officials inside the jail asked one elderly sweeper to sodomise me, while I was tied with ropes with my belly touching ground. It was so humiliating,” said Untoo while speaking to newsmen in Rajbagh Srinagar during a press conference organised by People’s Rights Movement, an organization fighting to stop torture in Kashmir.He alleged that detainees are ordered to insert their private parts into the mouth of other Kashmiri detainees and the same was repeated with him. Untoo showed two cavities inside his mouth with teeth missing. He alleged that these teeth were broken during his torture in Tihar.“Not only this,” narrates Untoo “they put rodents, frogs and bees into my dress after tying it with a thin rope around my ankles, abdomen, and neck. It was the cruellest form of physical torture I endured in Dhula Kuan Police station.” Describing his ordeal he said: “During torture they accused me of my making a bid on the life of Prof SAR Geelnai. I was shocked to hear this. Even they asked me to sign a blank paper.”
He added “From 56 days from December 30 to February 26, I was detained and tortured in police station Dhula Kuan and 26 February 2005 I was shifted to Tihar Jail.”
Untoo claimed: “Despite being an under-trail. I was made to sweep and clean gutters, toilets and sewers inside Tihar jail on regular basis. Challan was produced against me after three months but during these months no legal aid was available to me.”
Untoo added that in Tihar Jail he came across many Kashmiri detainees who were tortured and humiliated by Dhula Kuna police cops. He said that the basement cell is specifically meant for Kashmiris where they are tortured. Taking a dig at the role of International Committee for Red Cross, Untoo said: “ICRC presence inside Tihar did not make any difference. They did not report what they see. It is unfortunate. I narrated to them I was sodomised and tortured inside the Tihar when they visited us in March and August 2006. But they didn’t report it.” He further added, “When I told the story to the Judge in the Trail Court No 38, she asked me to produce the evidence that I was sodomised. It shocked me.” Untoo thanked the role played by senior Delhi lawyer and HR activist Nandita Haksar, Gautam Navlakha and Parvez Imroz for making the much needed legal aid available to him. “I owe my freedom to these persons.” Untoo was finally released on 2 July 2009.He was arrested in 30 December 2004 from Priya Guest House in Daryagunj and was taken to Lodhi Colony and then shifted to Dhulla Kuan Police station.He appealed International human rights organizations to “help stop torture on the Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri detainees lodged in Tihar Jail and detention Centres in and outside Jammu and Kashmir.”
On the other hand speaking during the press conference, PRM President Abdul Qadeer Dar said, “Untoo’s story is one of the thousand s of torture stories of Kashmir witnessed during the past 20 years.” He said: “PRM wants to document the torture practised over the past 20 years by troopers and police in Kashmir and outside over Kashmiris detainees.” He added that that a legal aid cell which includes Nandita Haksar, Gautam Navlakha, Parvez Imroz, and Ahsan Untoo, PRM and other human rights activists has been formed by them to provide much needed legal help to different Kashmiri detainees.”