Anil Singh, a tribal victim of police torture, received justice after two years when the Jharkhand High Court directed a compensation of ₹5 lakh to be collected from the guilty police officials.

The 42-year-old Anil Singh, a native of Kuku village in Barwadih block in Latehar district of Jharkhand, had on February 23, 2022, allegedly been beaten up in the Garu police station of the same district by the police station in-charge and two other policemen. He was also subjected to inhumanphysical and mental torture after being illegally confined in the police station for three days on the pretext of helping Maoists.

Jharkhand Janadhihar Mahasabha, which claims to be a collective of human rights defenders, had been helping Anil Singh in his legal struggle and welcomed the high court verdict. In a press statement, they said: “This case once again shows how innocent tribals are victims of state repression and how difficult it is for their families to get justice. Just getting an FIR registered against the guilty police and security forces is a long struggle.”

“The Mahasabha demands that the guilty police officers be dismissed immediately, punitive action be taken against them and Anil Singh be given a compensation of ₹10 lakhs instead of ₹5 lakhs,” the Mahasabha statement adds.

“The Jharkhand High Court has ordered compensation of ₹5 lakhs to Anil Singh to be paid by the state immediately, preferably within a period of two weeks. The court has also observed that since it is an admitted case that the petitioner was wrongly taken into custody and tortured, the amount should be recovered from the police officials who had taken him in custody and tortured. The recovery should be made within two months from the date of payment,” said Ranchi-based high court advocate Shailesh Poddar who had fought the case on behalf of Anil Singh.

“Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha raised this issue and the then Chief Minister Hemant Soren took cognizance of the violence and ordered Jharkhand Police to take action. But despite this, the police have been continuously trying to save the culprits. So far, the police have not taken adequate action against the culprits,” claimed a statement of the Mahasabha.