The medical legal report on Dalit labour activist Nodeep Kaur records that she sustained injuries to her thigh and buttock, which appear to have been caused by a blunt weapon, after her arrest by the Haryana Police on 12 January.
The findings are from a medical examination of Kaur at the Civil Hospital in Sonepat on 25 January, thirteen days after she had been arrested from the site of the ongoing farmer protests.
The Injuries section of the report, which has been seen by The Quint, notes the following:
“PURPLISH BRUISES OF AROUND 10X7CM PRESENT OVER LT THIGH LATERAL ASPECT, BRUISES OF AROUND 5X6CM OVER RT BUTTOCK”
The injuries are estimated to have been sustained more than 24 hours before the examination, and caused by a blunt weapon, according to the doctor who examined her.
Kaur has consistently claimed that she was physically and sexually assaulted by the police after being taken into custody by the police.
She has also alleged that her mandatory medical examination upon being arrested on 12 January was not conducted properly, and that other relevant procedures under the Code of Criminal Procedure including having a woman officer present with any police officers, were violated.
Kaur, a member of the labour organisation Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, has been booked in three cases by the Haryana Police in connection with protests for workers’ rights she has been part of in the Kundli Industrial Area.
She has been granted bail in all three cases now, with the Punjab & Haryana High Court passing an order for her release on bail in the third case on Friday, 26 February. She was released from Karnal jail, after 44 days in custody, on Friday evening.
The high court had registered a suo motu case regarding 24-year-old Kaur’s detention after receiving complaints on behalf of her which included the allegations of abuse by the police.
Her lawyers also filed a separate bail plea in the high court in connection with the third case, where the police have alleged her involvement in an attack on policemen at the site of a worker agitation in January.
The high court had asked for a copy of Kaur’s medical report to be submitted to them; a Sonipat magistrate had ordered a medical examination on 19 January, a week after her arrest.
On 24 February, however, the high court noted that the Haryana Police had only submitted the initial medical report from the time of Kaur’s arrest, not the detailed medical legal report.
The detailed report, with its finding on the injuries was then provided to the court by 26 February.
When The Quint had asked the Sonipat SP JS Randhawa for a copy of Kaur’s medical report on 11 February, he had provided only the section of the report with the initial report from the time of Kaur’s arrest – even though the detailed report had been prepared on 25 January.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court’s order granting Kaur bail does not make any note of the findings in the medical legal report.
“The petitioner is in custody since 12.1.2021. Albeit the matter is under investigation, but that itself would not be reasons to deny personal liberty to the petitioner.”Justice Avneesh Jhingan said, in his order granting bail
The Quint has reached out to Sonipat SP JS Randhawa regarding the findings of the medical report. This story will be updated with his response as and when this is received.
What Kaur Argued in Her Bail Plea
In her bail plea, Kaur has reportedly said she was falsely named as an accused in an FIR lodged under various sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.
She claimed that she was “targeted and falsely implicated” in the case because she was successful in mobilising labourers for a protest at Kundli in Sonipat district in support of the farmers’ agitation.
According to Kaur, a team from Kundli police station reached the site of the protests and grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to the side. She was then arrested by the police, taken to the police station where there was no woman police official present and was beaten up by police officials, the plea alleges.
Kaur alleged that she had only been heading a peaceful protest at Kundli to ensure workers were paid their wages. The high court held that it was a matter of trial to see if the line for a peaceful protest had been crossed in the alleged incident or not.
Kaur’s sister Rajvir had claimed that the arrested activist had been thrashed by the Haryana Police on her private parts. However, Sonipat SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa had denied Rajvir’s allegations of sexual assault and called them “baseless”.
Allegations of Police Brutality by Co-Accused Shiv Kumar
Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan president Shiv Kumar, who was arrested in connection with the same cases, has also alleged torture by the police after his arrest.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered a medical examination of him on 19 February. Shiv Kumar’s father, Rajbir, a landless labourer from Haryana’s Devru, had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that his son was beaten up in police custody.
The report that was submitted by Punjab’s Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday, 24 February, reveals that Kumar was subjected to multiple injuries, including at least two fractures. The Quint has accessed this report as well.
Further, the report suggests that Kumar has swollen feet, broken nail beds, discolouration, post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms and more possible fractures. It says that he suffered from both ‘simple’, as well as ‘grievous’ injuries.
The report notes that all injuries are more than two-weeks-old and were caused by a blunt object/weapon.
Kumar’s medical examination also suggests the following:
- Swelling of right foot
- Swelling and tenderness of left foot
- Nail beds of right second and third toe are broken and underlying skin is reddish in colour and showing healing changes
- Blackish discolouration seen on the left big toe
- Bluish-black discolouration with tenderness seen on the nails of left thumb and index finger
- Tenderness over right wrist
Further, the report says:
“There is fracture of distal phalanx of the second digit of left hand…fracture of base of 5th metatarsal bone of right foot…possible fracture/sesamoid bone at left navicular bone…possibly fracture of the right ulna bone (right wrist).”
His psychiatric evaluation suggested that he was suffering from “post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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