On Monday, the US-based Human Rights Watch released a 114-page report which examines “police disregard for arrest regulations, custodial deaths from torture, and impunity for those responsible”.
The report says that nearly 600 people died in police custody in India between 2010 and 2015 and no policeman was convicted for a prisoner’s death in custody during this period.
The report further says that deaths are routinely attributed to illness, attempted escape, suicide and accidents.
But a large number of such deaths happen because of torture in custody, claims officials reject.
The report is based on “in-depth investigations” into 17 deaths in custody that occurred between 2009 and 2015, including more than 70 interviews with victims’ family members, witnesses, justice experts, and police officials.