Chennai: National Human Rights Commission on Sunday issued notice to Tamil Nadu government asking it to respond to allegations that environmentalist Piyush Manush was “ill-treated” and “brutally tortured” by authorities at the Salem Central Jail.
The Commission issued notices to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police asking them to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The notice came on a complaint that Mr Manush is being ill-treated and brutally tortured by the prison authorities in Salem after being arrested without following the due process of law.
Observing that the allegations made are serious in nature and amount to human rights violation, the Commission has given two weeks to the State Government to respond.
“Allegedly, a top official had directed the prison authorities to thrash him as he had spearheaded a protest demanding justice for death of 21-year-old woman graduate who committed suicide over the use of her morphed image on Facebook and also for a protest over construction of Mulvadi Bridge.
“His hands were tied and he was beaten by a 30- member team led by the Superintendent of the prison. He has been allegedly, placed in a solitary confinement,” the Commission said in its notice on Sunday, quoting the complaint.
Mr Manush, who was released from the prison on Thursday, had alleged that he was brutally beaten up by 30 policemen inside the jail. “I heard they had charged me with burning of the national flag. That was a lie as I have never shown disrespect to our flag and I am a patriot,” he had said.
