NEFIS ACTIVISTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUPS PROTEST OUTSIDE U.P. BHAWAN IN DELHI!
SUBMIT MEMORANDUM TO U.P. CHIELF MINISTER THROUGH OFFICE OF RESIDENT COMMISSIONER!!
NEFIS ACTIVISTS DEMAND CBI INVESTIGATION INTO PRAVISH CHANAM’S DEATH BY CBI!!!
Today, a large number of activists of North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS), and from civil liberties groups and democratic student organizations protested outside the U.P. Bhawan in Delhi. The agitation was in reaction to the failure of the U.P. government and Union Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) to constitute a CBI inquiry into the death of a Manipuri youth, Pravish Chanam. A memorandum addressed to the U.P. Chief Minister was also submitted today.
NEFIS activists reacted strongly against the Manipur Chief Minister’s measure of sending Assistant DIG of Manipur Police to U.P. for collection of information on the ongoing Noida Police’s investigation. Chinglen Khumukcham from NEFIS declared such a measure as inadequate, given that the actual demand was for a CBI inquiry, and that there was no saying how much the Noida Police would cooperate with the Assistant DIG of Manipur Police.
It should be noted that Pravish Chanam had come to Delhi on a visit and had been residing in Safdarjung, Delhi with his friends. On 8th September, he went to Knowledge Park in Noida to attend a music concert with his friends and went missing after the concert. It has been reported that he was taken in an injured condition to Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hopspital around 10:30 pm, where he was given first-aid by a doctor. It is not known that whether after the first-aid he was discharged or forcibly taken away. On 9th September, at 6:30 am Pravish left the hospital Emergency Ward. The next day a call was received by the PCR of an injured person in Sector-31 Market. The PCR personnel took the injured youth, Pravish to Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hospital around 5:30 pm, where he subsequently died. His postmortem was done on 11th September 2017 and after waiting for 72 hours, the hospital authorities disposed (cremated) the body as there was no one to claim the body. It should be known that a complaint in connection to his disappearance had already been lodged at Knowledge Park Police Station, Gautam Budh Nagar on 9th September, and so such laxity on behalf of the Noida Police and civic authorities is shameful and wreaks of conspiracy.
It should be known that the police has been guilty of gross negligence in the whole matter. Despite the complaint being lodged on 9th September, the ‘Person Missing’ pamphlets were issued two days later. Details of the complaint lodged were not shared with PS Sector-20, Noida or Police Chowki, Nithari. Despite the fact that the matter was being pursued by the police of one station, Nithari Police Chowki personnel did not inform the station of an unclaimed deadbody. Moreover, when the deceased’s friends went to Nithari Police Chowki which is just opposite to Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hospital on 13th September to inquire about him, they were brusquely turned out by the police personnel present there. The hospital authorities too did not inform his friends about the presence of Pravish’s body in the hospital mortuary and their decision to cremate the body on the same day that they went there to enquire about him, i.e., 13th September 2017. It should be known that according to his cremation certificate the dead body of Pravish was present in the hospital for the last three days and was cremated on the very same day that his friends went there. This is straightforwardly a case of concealing crucial and necessary information. Clearly, it strongly suggests that police personnel had in connivance with criminals and hospital authorities allowed the body to be disposed, instead of informing Knowledge Park Police Station where the matter was being investigated.
NEFIS has in a separate the memorandum submitted to Union Home Ministry demanded a CBI inquiry into the case should be conducted, since the UP Police’s inquiry is bound to be heavily biased since its own personnel are implicated in the case. It has also demanded that the inquiry should especially probe the connivance of police personnel with the criminals and hospital authorities. NEFIS has also intensified its efforts to seek Manipur Government’s intervention in the case.
Chinglen Khumukcham,
Convener,
North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS)
This Press Release was sent by North-East Forum For International Solidarity, who can be contacted at nefis(dot)delhi(at)gmail(dot)com.
