Murder in custody?

Going through the sordid incidents, culminating in Rajan’s death, it is hard not to conclude that there was a design to have him disgraced, if not dead

In his book, Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther describes how cancer devours his only son bit by bit. He tells poignantly about his helplessness. J. Rajmohan Pillai, too, records his helplessness. He could not save his industrialist brother Rajan Pillai, who died at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail at the hands of doctors and officials. They were not only negligent but also greedy. Rajmohan’s account is in his book, A Wasted Death, yet to be published.

“What that faceless municipal clerk wrote in Rajan’s death certificate, was a casual, thoughtless thing but he was, in a way, being accurate. Where Rajan’s permanent address was to be shown, he scribbled in his delightfully legible hands: “Gate No. 4, Tihar Jail, New Delhi.” I could not even show a word of protest. I was resigning myself to the clerically twisted version of truth. I was silently accepting Rajan’s permanent address was Tihar Jail,” so says the brother.

I met his parents at Thiruvananthapuram a few days ago. Even after five and a half years of Rajan’s death, they are a picture of tragedy which could have been averted. The mother, sitting erect, looks vacantly, as if she is still waiting for familiar steps. The father is speechless after a stroke. His unacknowledged memorandum to the PM ends thus: “Rajan is no more. Other fathers should not face similar tragic situations in their old age.” But he says he will not die in peace if he does not “understand the circumstances that led to the tragic and untimely demise” of his son.

I do not think that the truth will ever come out. Some politicians, some bureaucrats and some doctors will see that it does not. The Justice Leila Seth commission, appointed after Rajan’s death, was restricted to ascertain the circumstances leading to his death, nothing beyond. And it came to the conclusion that “ways and means must be found to ensure that competent doctors were posted in the jail.” The commission also suggested that the UN Standard Minimum Rules be followed: A prisoner should be allowed to be treated by his own doctor. Rajan was denied all that.

“Never has it been a judicial fashion anywhere to make fun of a sick man who is on trial and deny him essential medical care,” writes his brother. “But there is one sure way to see that he dies in abject ignominy, of course judicially administered.” How else can he describe the drama played out in full view. Rajan Pillai was denied the minimum facilities. It was the despicable, unbelievable murder act.

The Kerala Assembly felt so horrified over Rajan’s death that it pronounced its unanimous verdict: “It was a judicial murder.” Members asked for a fuller inquiry. But neither then PM Narasimha Rao nor then state CM A.K. Anthony accepted the plea. Why? They did not want to face the stigma of deliberate negligence.
Why should the BJP-led coalition follow the example of the Congress led government? What does it want to cover up? Do some rival business houses come in the way? Rajan Pillai never came out of jail alive. He died in mysterious circumstances when he was under judicial custody. The trial he faced was for extradition to Singapore where “criminal proceedings” against him had been initiated by some business tycoons. It was part of a conspiracy. The government should order a fresh inquiry.

The Commission never went into the charge of conspiracy, as alleged by Rajan’s wife, Nina Pillai. This was beyond it’s brief. Still it asked Nina to provide evidence to prove the conspiracy. Being upset then she did not respond, but since then has filed FIRs. The Inspector of the Crime Branch in New Delhi is still looking into them. The Home Ministry’s silence is ominous.

Even when the commission pointed out lapses, the government did little. (Two doctors were demoted this week). When Rajan was remanded to judicial custody, the judge wrote an urgent confidential letter to the RMO, Tihar Jail, enquiring about Rajan’s ailment and sent a copy of the application moved in the court by his counsel for medical examination. The letter was received by the Assistant Superintendent of Tihar Jail bit it never reached the RMO who was required to send the reply in confidence to the court. The RMO stated under oath that he never received such a letter.

According to the Commission, the CBI withheld vital information from the judge. Both the Medical Superintendent of Safdarjang Hospital and the RMO of Central Jail Hospital had replied to the CBI listing out hospitals in Delhi in which treatment for cirrhosis of liver, Rajan’s ailment, was available. Although both these letters were with the CBI, they were not produced before the judge. Why there has been no action against the CBI officials till today?

Rajan did not get the attention which even an ordinary criminal gets. His mulahiza (inspection) did not take place immediately on his entering the jail, July 4, 1995. Nor did it happen even two days later. He continued to languish in the mulahiza ward while the court had ordered a “B” class ward for him. To me, it seems a case of fiendish pleasure, something in which many government servants indulge to get vicarious satisfaction in teasing the rich.

Going through the sordid incidents, culminating in Rajan’s death, it is hard not to conclude that there was a design to have him disgraced, if not dead. There was so much of glee in certain circles when he was breaking. His plea for medical care had been rejected. His bail plea had been rejected. What he was granted was judicial ridicule.

“Death came as an untimely embarrassment. Those who denied him his right to live were supposed to be shocked. Those who made themselves scarce were at pains to tell us how they failed to trace us. The response to death, I felt, was irritating,” writes his brother.

Where do we go from here? How does a dead man get justice? Officially, the case is closed. The communist state government led by EK Nayanar has written to the Centre to conduct a re-inquiry into the whole gamut of what is known as the Rajan Pillai case. The state awaits the response of the Indian Government. So do his parents. And so does his brother, who says, Rajan was dumped in the jail and left in his cell to die. Indeed, it was a wasted death.

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