CHANDIGARH: Taking cognizance of a plea regarding brutal torture of Shiv Kumar -- a labour activist and co-accused with Naudeep Kaur in a criminal case registered by Haryana police on complaint of Kundli based industry, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday ordered Shiv’s medical examination at Chandigarh.
Directions have been issued to the superintendent, district jail Sonipat to get him examined from government medical college and hospital (GMCH) Chandigarh by Saturday. The medical superintendent, GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh has also been directed to ensure that the petitioner is thoroughly medically examined.
Further directions to the jail authorities have also been given to ensure that Shiv Kumar is permitted to meet an advocate of his choice.
Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill of the HC has passed these orders while hearing a petition filed by Shiv Kumar’s father Rajbir Singh, 55, a resident of village Devru, district Sonipat in Haryana. He has sought directions to shift the probe of the cases under which Shiv has been arrested by the police to the independent agency like CBI.
HC also issued notice to the Haryana government, DGP, SP Sonipat and the SHO Kundli police station in Sonipat seeking their response on the contentions raised by the petitioner.
The HC has been informed that an association called Kundli Industrial area Association (KIA) has been formed by the industrialists in Kundli. KIA has also formed multiple quick response teams (QRTs), which they use in order to deter any protest strike or unionization of the workers.
An association called Majdoor Adhikar Sanghtan (MAS) was formed by labourers and Shiv Kumar was its president. The MAS used to help the labourers who had any grievances against any industry/factory.
On January 12, the members of MAS marched to a factory, ELECMECH Pvt Ltd, where the management refused to make any payment and called the QRT of KIA. The goons from QRT came and started manhandling and pushing the protestors out. In the meantime, a team from police station Kundli accompanied by SHO also reached there and immediately on their arrival they grabbed labour activist Naudeep Kaur by her hair and dragged her to the side.
Since then, Shiv Kumar also went missing. However, on January 31, the family received a call from Shiv Kumar’s friend informing that Shiv Kumar is in police custody and has been badly tortured.
When the petitioner went to Sonipat jail to meet his son, he was not allowed to meet him. Even his lawyer was not allowed to get his signatures on the vakalatnama. It has also been claimed in the petition that on February 4, 2021, the petitioner received a chit which was sneaked out from the jail wherein his son had written a small note on the bottom of a piece of the newspaper that he was picked up by police on January 16 from near KFC and was kept in CIA branch of Sonipat police where he was tortured. However, he was shown to have been arrested on January 23 and again on seven days remand was obtained for him.
While seeking the intervention of the HC, the petitioner has submitted that his son is in extremely bad state and has even developed some serious psychological problems due to extreme torture. The petition has also stated that Naudeep Kaur who was also arrested on January 12 in relation to the case and was subjected to brutal torture.
Now the matter would come up for hearing on February 24 along with the suo motu petition pertaining to Naudeep Kaur.