“Was I a Terrorist or Criminal that I was Mercilessly Beaten?”: Labour Rights Activist Shiv Kumar

When Shiv Kumar's labour union group, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, staged a protest in the industrial town of Kundli over unpaid wages of labourers working there, little did he realise what was in store for him. He was illegally detained and allegedly tortured like a hardcore criminal. Fortunately, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered an inquiry into this shocking case where the police's version of Kumar's injuries differs widely from that of a Court-appointed team of doctors, writes VIVEK GUPTA reporting from Chandigarh.  

——-

"WAS I some kind of terrorist or criminal that I was mercilessly beaten," asked Sonipat-based labour rights activist Shiv Kumar as the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered an inquiry into his alleged police torture and illegal detention on March 16 by the Haryana police.

The Court appointed a district and sessions judge in Faridabad to hold an inquiry and asked all parties, including the Haryana police, to lend their full cooperation to him so that the inquiry report is submitted at the earliest.

"I am very happy with the order," Kumar told The Leaflet as the news of the order went viral. Advocate Prashant Bhushan tweeted: "Great! Must lead to punishment of police officers responsible. Only then will this abuse stop." Kumar added: "I only wish the inquiry is held in a free and fair manner. Whosoever is guilty must not be spared. If I have done something wrong, I am ready for any punishment. But if policemen are wrong, they should not go unpunished."

CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS

The twists and turns in the life of this factory worker-turned-activist are as dramatic as his arrest by the Sonipat police in January. On January 12, Kumar's labour union group, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, staged a protest in the industrial town of Kundli on the Delhi-Sonipat border over unpaid wages of labourers working there.

The police claimed that members of Kumar's union had been trying to break into a factory in Kundli for illegal extortion under the garb of unpaid salaries. Officers who tried to mediate were, however, attacked by union members armed with sticks and rods, leading to seven police personnel being injured, the police alleged. The entire incident, it claimed, was video-recorded and there were neutral eyewitnesses at the spot as well.

The Sonipat police first picked up a female activist of Kumar's group, Nodeep Kaur, from the site that day on multiple charges, including attempt to murder, extortion, rioting, etc. Virender Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sonipat, stated in his affidavit to the High Court earlier this month that it arrested Shiv Kumar 11 days later, on January 23, at 8.40 pm (in the same FIR as that of Nodeep Kaur).

But Kumar's version is different. Currently out on regular  bail, he claimed that his organisation was peacefully protesting before policemen and security guards of Kundli Industrial Association started beating them. He further added the police picked him up on January 16 (four days after the January 12 incident) near Kundli, not on January 23, and kept him in wrongful detention for a week before officially showing his arrest. Wrongful detention refers to an act of not producing an arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours.

HIT HARD

"That one week of illegal detention and then 10 days of police demand was nothing short of hell," Kumar alleged. "Was I some kind of terrorist or criminal that I was mercilessly beaten?" he asked. "Even hardcore criminals did not get the kind of treatment that I faced in police custody." On being asked why it happened, he claimed it was the perfect example of a nexus between the police and rich people.

There are statements on record by the Kundli Industrial Association showing their opposition to the emergence of any workers' union. "Here was an opportunity to muzzle these voices by slapping fictitious criminal cases against me and Nodeep," said Kumar. "We were also building up support in favour of the farmers' protest at Singhu border near Kundli and focusing on kisan-mazdoor bonding."

Nodeep was the first to get media attention after US Vice-president Kamala Harris's niece Meena Harris tweeted for her release on February 6. After her release on bail on February 26, the media focus shifted to Kumar. Both were slapped with two cases related to the January 12 incident and one case of an earlier incident on December 28. They are both on bail in all these cases.

WHAT LED TO THE INQUIRY?

It was Shiv Kumar's father Rajbir, a keth mazdoor-turned-part-time security guard who moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month seeking the transfer of Kumar's cases to an independent agency. He also sought directions for an independent inquiry into his illegal detention and torture and a thorough medical examination.

In response to Rajbir's petition, the Sonipat police claimed that there was no illegal detention and stated that it got Shiv Kumar medically examined four times during the 10 days of remand between January 24 and February 2.

These medical reports, annexed with a police affidavit (assessed by The Leaflet), found nothing abnormal with Shiv Kumar's health. But a contradiction emerged in the medical report of the High Court-appointed team of doctors from Chandigarh, who examined Kumar inside Sonipat Jail on February 19. It revealed startling facts about his physical and mental health.

MERCILESS POLICE?

As per the report, assessed by The Leaflet, Kumar had fractures of the second digit of his left hand, base of 5th metatarsal bone of the right foot and possible fracture/sesamoid bone at the left navicular bone (foot) and right wrist. The doctors found his feet swollen. The "nail beds of his 2nd and 3rd toe nails of the right foot were broken", the left big toe was discoloured from clotting and injuries and there were discoloured patches of injuries on his thighs. They recorded injuries on his left hand, with the nails of his left thumb and index finger showing grievous injury.

The report also recorded Shiv Kumar's statement claiming that after he was picked by police on January 16, the policemen did not allow him to sleep for three days. He alleged that when he could not answer their questions, they tied him to a chair and poured water over his head. They poured hot water on his feet and any blisters that were formed were burst by them, he alleged. As per the report, he appeared sad and distressed, with occasional crying spells.

During March 16's hearing, the Haryana police told the High Court that the investigation of the FIRs against Shiv Kumar (as well as of Nodeep Kaur's) were handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT). In its order, the Court observed that at this stage, there was nothing before it to doubt the investigation being carried out by the SIT.

However, as there could be a chance that the conclusion arrived at by the SIT and the inquiry report with regard to two sets of medical reports, it may cast a shadow on each other, it added. "Considering the facts and circumstances in entirety, let the District and Sessions Judge presently posted at Faridabad hold an inquiry with regard to the allegations of illegal detention and custodial torture of Shiv Kumar," it stated.

Shiv Kumar's advocate Arshdeep Cheema said that the major discrepancies in the Haryana police's medical examination report vis-à-vis the HC-appointed team of doctors led to the ordering of a court inquiry.  "The inquiry will now shed more light in this case," he said.

In the meantime, the High Court said that the police SIT may continue with the investigation, but shall not submit its final report without seeking permission from it. The next hearing will be on May 11, 2021.

JOURNEY OF AN ACTIVIST  

"The rebel with a smile," read a February 27 article of Outlook magazine. A February 23 article, "Dreamed to be an rebel", published in The Quint shared an anecdote of how four years ago, after the screening of a film based on Shaheed Bhagat Singh in Sonipat, when everyone was asked what they hoped to become in the near future, Shiv Kumar, then in Class 12, stood up and said, "I want to become a 'Baaghi' (rebel)." His reply was met with laughter and jibes.

Born into a Dalit family in Devru village in Sonipat, Kumar told The Leaflet that he has seen poverty and exploitation of workers and mazdoors at a very close quarters. "My father was a khet mazdoor for years and he never got wages in accordance with his efforts," he said.

After passing out of the Industrial Training Institute in Sonipat, he began working in Kundli Industrial Area. This is when he got a first-hand experience of the bad treatment being meted out to labourers.

In 2018, he said he formed a small group called the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan and started raising issues concerning labour rights protection. "Our association came into prominence during the Covid lockdown when there were maximum violations of workers' rights. My fight is long as labourers are often deprived of their rights despite rules and regulations on paper," he said.

Allegations that he was an extortionist or a blackmailer were made to weaken his movement, he revealed. But this would not let him down,

"We want labourers to get the minimum wages decided by the centre and state governments. They also must get proper social security besides affordable access to healthcare and education facilities for their family. New labour codes are not in favour of labourers and there has been no discussion even to get them amended," he added.

(Vivek Gupta is a senior Chandigarh based freelance journalist. The views expressed are personal.)