Labour Activist Shiv Kumar Granted Bail by Sonipat Court

Labour activist Shiv Kumar, an associate of Nodeep Kaur and the president of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, has been granted bail by a local court in Sonipat in the third case registered against him.

Kumar was reportedly granted bail in two cases on Wednesday. He was arrested on January 16, four days after Kaur’s arrest. Both were protesting against the alleged harassment of factory workers in Kundli, Sonipat. The protest turned violent and the police had named both in three FIRs related to the January 12 incident, the charges against them including attempt to murder, theft and extortion.

Kaur was arrested for allegedly gheraoing an industrial unit and demanding money from the company in Haryana’s Sonepat on January 12. She had been granted bail last Friday.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 19 had directed Superintendent, Sonipat Jail to get the medical examination of Kumar conducted by the GMCH after Kumar’s had father alleged that his son was brutally tortured by Sonipat police.

At a press conference in Delhi on Monday his father Rajbeer had pointed out that his medical report has still not been made available to the family and that Kumar had not been shifted to a medical facility in Chandigarh despite orders from the High Court.

“My son was arrested in early January and we found out only on January 31. We have been able to meet him only once. The police came over asking for his whereabouts. When we sought to meet him, we were told that he is being quarantined for 15 days. He has fractured limbs, several injuries and his nails were also removed,” Rajbeer had said.

According to a GMCH medical report submitted in the high court on February 17: “All the injuries were more than two weeks old and were caused by blunt object/weapon.”

“There is a fracture distal phalanx of the second digit of left hand. Fracture of base of 5th Metatarsal bone of right foot,” according to the report. Among injuries, four of the injuries were simple in nature and two were of grievous nature, as per the report.

“Right foot swelling present and tender to touch….Swelling and tenderness on left foot. Nail beds of right 2nd and 3rd toe are broken and underlying skin in reddish in colour and showing healing changes. Left big toe shows blackish discolouration. Nails of left thumb and index finger shows bluish black discoloration with tenderness,” the report had said.

According to a psychiatric evaluation of Kumar, he appeared sad and distressed with occasional crying spells.

“He expressed preoccupation with his current situation, reported predominant anxiety symptoms, flashbacks of brutality meted out to him, nightmares, feeling of loneliness, uncertainty about future,” it said.

“Overall, evaluation is suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder like symptoms,” the report had said.

According to 24-year-old Kumar, who provided information about his case to the five-member medical board of GMCH formed for his medical examination, he was picked up on January 16 from a protest site at Kundli and was taken to old Kacheri, Sonipat where the CI (police) staff assaulted him.

“They tied both his feet, lay him on the ground and hit him on the soles. His 2nd, 3rd and 5th toe nails of the right foot were torn and nail of big toe of left foot became blue. They also hit him on the buttocks with flat sticks. Then they tied his hands and stretched his legs. He was made to lie on the ground with both legs straight and a metal pipe was placed on his thigh and rolled over the thighs by two people. They also hit him on both hands and palms and also on the back of his head. He was not allowed to sleep for three days,” the medico-legal report had said.

“The CI staff took his statement and asked him to give names and when he could not do so, they tied him to a chair and poured water to his head. He was mentally and physically abused in the police remand and they also poured hot water on his feet and any blisters that formed were burst by them,” it had added.

(With PTI inputs)