India – Nazariya Magazine: Cruelty in Buxar Jail
We share the report found in Nazariya Magazine on the abuses committed in Buxar jail.
The Jailer Says – ‘Imagine You Are Not Being Beaten, You Are Having Sex with Sridevi’
64-year-old ‘Vijay Arya’ is a political prisoner. He has dedicated his entire life to the struggles of the poor and Dalits. When he was in Buxar Jail, he was brutally beaten. This excellent but chilling report by Vishwa Vijai reveals that jails have turned into torture centers and the jail administration is becoming increasingly sadistic and criminal.
It is heard that this week is being celebrated globally as Global Week Against Torture. This week, there will be discussions on ending torture, which is fine, but will any steps also be taken to end the torture happening in jails? This article is about jail tortures.
According to the Constitution and law of India, citizens, including detainees/prisoners, cannot be deprived of their fundamental rights. The law does not permit mistreatment, inhumane treatment, or cruelty towards any detainee/prisoner. Prisoners in jail have a fundamental right to receive clean water, nutritious food, and medical facilities. But upon peacefully demanding their rights, detainees become victims of cruel torture by jail officers and staff.
While stories of police and jail official brutality are not new, today, police and jail officials across the country are competing to set new records of cruelty. One such cruel tale has emerged from Buxar Jail in Bihar, which is heart-wrenching.
Vijay Kumar Arya, an undertrial prisoner in the Anda cell of Buxar Jail in Bihar, has written a long article on jail tortures. He writes:
“I am Vijay Kumar Arya, an accused in Patna NIA Special Case No. 5/22. I was arrested on April 11, 2022, from Rohtas district. On June 7, 2022, I was produced before the NIA Court, Patna, from Sasaram Jail, and on the same day, I was transferred to Model Central Jail, Beur, Patna. I have been confined there ever since.
In the last week of June 2024, the new superintendent, Mr. Vidhu Kumar, took charge at Beur Jail. Upon his arrival, he began drastic cuts in the prisoners’ food rations. For instance, according to the jail manual, 250 grams of rice-flour are prescribed per prisoner, but he started giving only 100 grams per plate. The system of providing diversified breakfasts every day of the week was stopped. The special meal (chicken, paneer, eggs) provided weekly was also stopped. Out of at least 110 wards in the jail, he sold approximately 80 to 90 wards to influential prisoners for two lakh rupees per ward. Every item in the government-run jail canteen began to be sold at double the printed retail price. All products of Sudha dairy were sold for 5 rupees more than the printed price. The jail ‘gumti’ (stall) was also sold, where previously 500 rupees were taken for going to a preferred ward, now 1000 rupees were charged. The only deluxe toilet in the jail was also sold, where arbitrary amounts were collected from prisoners for bathing and defecating – 10 rupees for a single use or 300 rupees monthly.
Those who bought the wards started charging prisoners 1000 rupees per month for a seat (bed) and 3000 to 5000 rupees per month for food. Jail Superintendent Vidhu Kumar started extorting money from 5000 rupees to 5 lakh rupees from wealthy prisoners by confining them in cells (Golghar and Kalapani). Whether it was a convicted prisoner or an undertrial prisoner, the superintendent began to verbally abuse, assault, and humiliate and torture everyone in various ways. These problems caused distress among the prisoners.
Regarding the above problems, we tried to meet the jail superintendent to discuss a solution, but he refused to meet us. Then the prisoners decided to agitate against the ongoing atrocities in the jail. On August 29, 2024, we announced an indefinite hunger strike and sent our demand letter to the superintendent. From the morning of August 30, 2024, 14 prisoners –
- Pramod Mishra, Ward 3/20
- Rajesh Kumar Singh, Ward 3/20
- Rohit Rai, Ward 4/1
- Dheeraj Kumar Paswan, Ward 4/1
- Subedar Yadav, Ward 4/1
- Anil Yadav, Ward 4/4
- Sonu Kumar, Ward 4/4
- Bijli Mahto, Ward 4/4
- Ajay Singh Bhokta, Ward 4/4
- Kariman Nonia, Ward 4/4
- Dharmveer alias Chuha Yadav, Ward 4/4
- Rajesh Kumar, Ward 4/5
- Kanta Paswan, Ward 4/5
- Bhola Singh, Ward 4/15
– began a fast unto death. In support of the fast, hundreds of prisoners were announcing a hunger strike daily in shifts under my leadership. Still, the jail superintendent refused to talk to us and resorted to repression. On August 29, the day we announced the hunger strike, at 11 PM that night, I was sent to Buxar Jail and Pramod Mishra to Special Central Jail, Bhagalpur.”
The Story of the Torture Chamber
“On August 30, 2024, around 7 AM, I entered Central Jail, Buxar. There I was presented before Assistant Jailer Shivsagar in the jail’s entrance branch office. As soon as he saw me, he started hurling filthy abuses at my mother and sister. I was stunned as to why the jailer was behaving so badly. He told the jail constable to call two BMP (Bihar Military Police) constables with sticks from outside. When they came inside, he asked me, ‘What did you do in Beur Jail?’ I said I hadn’t done anything wrong there. Yes, we had announced a fast due to not receiving food according to the jail manual. At this, he became furious and told the BMP constable, ‘Give him a good beating.’
Then, in a corner of the jailer’s office, one constable held me with both hands, bending me forward, and the other constable started showering hundreds of blows with sticks on my buttocks and thighs. When that constable got tired, I was again made to stand before the jailer. The jailer again hurled filthy abuses, as if my mother and sister were Bihar government’s uncultivated land. He abused the constables and said, ‘How did you beat him that not even a tear fell from his eyes? Beat him again.’ Again, I was bent down and hit with more than 100 sticks. I kept screaming, but neither those who were beating nor those who were ordering the beating showed any mercy.
When the constable started panting, I was again taken before the jailer. The jailer, with red eyes, abused the constables, ‘How did you beat him that he’s still standing so straight? Beat him so much that he limps to the cell.’ Then I was taken to the same corner. This time, the constable who was holding me started beating me with the stick, and the other constable laid me on my stomach and sat on my back. My legs were held up, and countless sticks were struck on the soles of my feet. When he got tired, I was again made to stand before that executioner jailer, even though I could not stand properly. Shivsagar Jailer, while abusing, said, ‘Hold your ears and do 20 sit-ups and say that you will not agitate/fast against officers in any jail again.’ When I refused, he ordered the constables to beat me relentlessly from both sides until I fainted and fell. Out of compulsion, I had to do sit-ups, and I kept doing them until I fell. After this, the jailer instructed to send me to the Anda cell.
I left the office and reached the gate, where after another search, I started gathering my scattered belongings. Suddenly, a gate warder from behind indiscriminately rained 15-20 blows with sticks. He probably would have hit more, but his fellow constable grabbed his stick and said, ‘Leave him, he’s an old man.’ My age is 64 years. I limped to the gumti and the cell.
After going to the Anda cell, in the evening, I wanted to go to the doctor and get pain medication, but I was not allowed to go to the hospital. I asked for hot water, but that was also not given. Instead, the constable abused me. I writhed in fear for 24 hours. At night, I could neither sleep on my back nor sit quietly. It was painful to defecate while sitting for three days. The next day, in the evening, I was taken to the jail hospital for a check-up, but no medicine was given. In the cell, I was given an earthen pot, a plate, and a blanket. I asked for a bowl and a glass, but they were not provided. No detainee is given a bowl or glass there. If you bring them from another jail, they are snatched at the gate or gumti.
Out of compulsion, I had to cut a plastic bottle and make two glasses from it. The lower part of the bottle was used for keeping dal, curd, milk, kheer, sevai, and for drinking tea, and the upper part, closed with a lid, was used for drinking water. For almost three months, I managed with this plastic glass, but now it started tearing in places. Then, one evening when Jailer Raghavendra Babu came to the cell, I showed him the torn glass and said, ‘I am in a 21st-century jail, and for three months, I have been managing with this bottle-glass. Now even this is giving up. Please either give a new bottle so I can make another glass, or give a bowl and a glass.’ Perhaps out of embarrassment, he sent a bowl and a glass the next day. But most detainees are still managing without a bowl-glass, making glasses from plastic bottles.”
It is known that the Bihar government ranks fourth among states in spending on prisoners, after Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tihar Jail. Yet, this is the situation. In fact, behind this is a case of corruption, and second, the psychology of jail officials to maximally torment prisoners in the administrative section.
Reading this story from Buxar Jail in Bihar, no sensitive person can help but be enraged at the cruelty. It is noteworthy that the superintendent of Buxar Jail is a woman, Gyanita Gaurav, under whose orders Assistant Jailer Shivsagar and the jail police perpetrate this cruelty on the prisoners.
In Shakeela Abdul Gaffar vs. Raghunath Dhokle, AIR 2003 SC 4567, the Supreme Court held that police torture during custody is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. But police and jail officials are cruelly violating laws, human rights, and Supreme Court orders without any fear or apprehension against detainees/prisoners in custody/judicial custody.
Vijay Arya, in his long writing, continues the story of cruelty in Buxar Jail, under the heading “Sridevi Style”:
“On September 15, 2024, prisoners of Buxar Jail in Anda Cell-A boycotted substandard food. I was also involved. The prisoners demanded to meet the jailer in charge of the cell. After counting in the afternoon, Assistant Jailer Shivsagar came to the cell, and the prisoners complained about the quantity and quality of the food. The jailer assured them that the food quality would be improved. The food did improve from the next day, but after three or four days, the leaders of the food boycott, Bablu Kushwaha, Athwas and Chhotelal were called to the gumti and brutally beaten. They were told, ‘You people act like leaders, you go on hunger strikes? We will fix you.’
The method of beating prisoners in Buxar Jail is called ‘Sridevi Style.’ In this style, the person to be beaten is taken to the gumti and made to stand against a pillar. Their hands are firmly held by two constables so that they cannot move. Then two constables, who could be from the jail police or BMP, start showering relentless blows with sticks from both sides. This is done in four to five rounds. Approximately 100 sticks are struck in one round. While beating, the jailer, constables, jamadars, and prisoners use obscene language and gestures. It seems as if cows, buffaloes, or goats are being fed.
Assistant Jailer Shivsagar tells the beaten prisoner, ‘Son, you are not being beaten, imagine that you are kissing Sridevi.’ Jailer Raghavendra says, ‘Son, imagine that you are not being beaten, you are loving Sridevi.’ A prisoner-constable comments, ‘Son, you are not being beaten, imagine that you are having sex with Sridevi.’ Hearing these words, those present burst into laughter. The beaten prisoner cries, pleads, begs for forgiveness, but his voice proves futile there. After beating the victim for four to five rounds, they are locked in the cell and left to suffer. Dozens of prisoners like Bablu, Athwas, and Chhotelal have suffered this, and it continues today.
It is surprising that the superintendent of Central Jail, Buxar, is a woman (Gyanita Gaurav), but in terms of oppression, she is even more unrestrained. Her participation and consent are there in all the aforementioned tortures. She herself gets prisoners beaten in this way; the only difference is that she gives the order to beat and leaves the gumti. Perhaps she feels ashamed to hear ‘love’ and ‘sex’ remarks, or the male torturing officers hesitate to say such things in front of her. That’s why she is not present there.
Whether it’s the superintendent or the jailers of Buxar Jail, all their minds are filled with inhumane perversion and distortion. The horrific style of torture going on in the jail in the name of a respected and deceased actress of the country has been theorised by the said superintendent herself. Even though she is a woman, her thinking, outlook, and behaviour are patriarchal. The authoritarian idea of oppression and torture against poor and working-class people is deeply ingrained in her.
Old prisoners of Buxar Jail say that when Rajiv Kumar was superintendent and Tribhuvan Singh was deputy superintendent, such beatings did not happen to prisoners in the administrative detention section [1]. But ever since Gyanita Gaurav became superintendent and Raghavendra Singh became jailer, this has been happening repeatedly.
One day, Athwas Mian, distraught by the oppression and atrocities of jail officials (the ‘Sridevi Style’ beating), attempted suicide by cutting a vein in his hand in Anda Cell-A. Coincidentally, on the same day, Golu Mishra (Siwan) also did the same in T. Cell. Due to the alertness of the prisoners, they were saved. Upon learning of the incident, the prisoners immediately admitted them to the jail hospital. After treatment, when they recovered, they were again taken to the gumti and beaten in ‘Sridevi Style’ for four to five rounds. Golu Mishra was thrown into Anda Cell-B and Athwas Mian into T. Cell to suffer. The order to beat these people was from Madam Gyanita herself.”
Vijay Arya, in his article, writes under the heading “The truth of administrative detention”:
“Administrative detainee means a slave. Just as slaves were treated in Rome, so are administrative detainees in Bihar jails. When administrative detainees are beaten, they are not allowed to meet their families for two to three weeks. They are not allowed to write letters, make phone calls, or be produced in court for their cases. Even if they are produced through video conferencing, they are threatened not to complain to the judge about the jail or the beating. They are scared that if they complain to the judge, they will be beaten more. To prevent detainees from complaining, the audio of video conferencing is turned off. Their names are not added to the government booth for months. In my case, my name was added after three months.
When I asked for paper and pen to write a letter home, Shivsagar Jailer said that whether an administrative detainee has the right to write a letter or not, and whether the letter will be written on a prisoner application form or plain paper, would only be decided by the superintendent’s order. I never received it. When I asked for a prisoner application form and pen for a court application, Jailer Raghavendra said it would be given only after the superintendent’s order. I submitted two applications to meet the superintendent and also told Jailer Priyadarshi twice, but I could not meet the superintendent. Her attitude towards prisoners is oppressive and tyrannical.
The jail superintendents and jailers who send administrative detainee inform the officials of that jail over the phone about the reason the prisoner was sent and how much and what kind of torture they should inflict. Torture is inflicted accordingly. What Beur Jail Superintendent Vidhu Kumar told Buxar Jail officials, the same way I and CPI (ML) leader Mrityunjay Kumar were beaten. Pramod Mishra (75 years old) and Armaan Malik were also beaten in Special Central Jail, Bhagalpur. Naval Bhuiyan and Mithilesh Verma were beaten in Mandal Jail, Araria, until they fainted. Rakesh Kumar Kranti was severely beaten in Muzaffarpur and Vinay Yadav alias Jijebi Yadav in Mandal Jail, Bhabhua.
Among the prisoners of Bihar, Special Central Jail (Third Section), Bhagalpur is notoriously known as ‘Guantanamo,’ Central Jail, Buxar as ‘Abu Ghraib,’ and Mandal Jail, Araria as ‘Sednaya’ Jail of Syria. The question is, if food items are not provided according to the jail manual, and despite all discussions and efforts, there is no improvement, then how big a crime is it for prisoners to go on a peaceful hunger strike or fast unto death? How legally valid is it to impose administrative detention sections and transfer under trial prisoners to other jails for this?
For the offence of hunger strike, almost two dozen prisoners from Adarsh Central Jail, Beur, Patna, were transferred to the above-mentioned jails in Bihar. For administrative detainees, the rule is that the police of the district to which they have been sent will bring them. But usually, the sending jail does not call the prisoner back even after the period is over. This leaves the prisoner stuck there for years. There is also a game of bribery involved in this. Prisoners who want to return to their district jail have to contact the concerned jailer. They have to pay a hefty bribe for their return and case settlement. Then a letter is written to the jail superintendent, jailer, and the major of the police line to provide guards. This involves transactions ranging from 25,000 to 5 lakh rupees.
For example, in May 2024, a prisoner from Beur Jail came to Buxar Jail. After six months, his under trial period was not extended, nor did Beur Jail call him back, nor did Buxar Jail send him. Even after eight months, the court did not take cognisance, nor was there any video conferencing or physical production. Then he started trying to return to Beur Jail. A deal was struck with an assistant jailer of Buxar Jail for 30,000 rupees. This amount was divided among the Buxar and Beur jailers, as well as the Major of the Patna Police Line.
If lawyers of administrative detainees demand physical production in court, usually production happens only on court order. In most cases, production is done via video conferencing. If the court orders physical production, even then, only the police of the district where the case is go. Nowadays, the practice of violating court orders is increasing. Several superintendents and jailers in Bihar have been found violating court orders.
This also happened in my case. On August 29, 2024, I was sent to Buxar Jail, but the superintendent of Beur Jail did not obtain any court order. Whereas, before transferring any administrative detainee, it is mandatory to obtain permission from the court before which the case is ongoing. I am an NIA prisoner, and my case is running in a Special Court. Then on November 29, 2024, the NIA Court ordered me to be kept in Beur Jail, but when the police brought me to Beur Jail, Superintendent Vidhu Kumar refused to keep me. The court’s peshkaar (clerk) talked to him over the phone, yet he did not keep me. This game continued at the jail gate for three to four hours. Finally, at 12-1 AM, I was taken back to Buxar Jail. There, Jailer Shivsagar, violating the court order, kept me in jail.
On December 9, 2024, the Special NIA Court again ordered me to be kept in Beur Jail. That day I was kept, but five days later, I was again transferred to Buxar Jail. It seemed as if the jail superintendent was above the judge. The law was functioning not according to the law, but according to the order.
One objective of the administrative detention sections is to delay the case settlement of under trial prisoners, isolate them from their families, impose unnecessary financial burdens, inflict mental and physical torture, and in a way, teach them a lesson or take revenge. Under the guise of this section, jail officials are acting arbitrarily and looting. The poor, deprived, Dalits, and political prisoners are most distressed by this.
The assault and torture (‘Sridevi Style’ beating) against prisoners in the name of the administrative detention section is not an isolated case of one or two jailers or superintendents, but a matter of the entire prison department working like a criminal syndicate. This includes everyone from the Jail IG to constables, staff, jail superintendents, and influential prisoners. The district administration is also linked to this syndicate of repression, torture, and looting.
The day Bablu Kushwaha, Athwas Mian, and Chhotelal were beaten, the next day the DM and SP of Buxar came to the jail for investigation. Bablu Kushwaha told them all his sufferings and took off his clothes to show how brutally he was beaten. Both officers remained silent, showing no sympathy. After this, Jailer Shivsagar came to the Anda cell and thumped his chest, saying, ‘Oh, what DM? If we beat, even the judge will not do anything to us.’ Prisoners accept his words as fate. This is why in the last week of January 2025, when the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Buxar came to the Anda cell, no one complained out of fear.”
Vijay Arya’s article records several alarming stories of cruelty and corruption in Bihar jails under different headings. Considering the length of the article, only a sample of this story of repression has been presented here.
These few incidents of torture in Vijay Arya’s article, from the Anda cell-A of Buxar Jail in Bihar, cross all limits of cruelty. They violate human rights, mock Supreme Court guidelines, and brutally strike at the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution. Shouldn’t the Bihar government take action against the superintendent and jailers of Buxar Jail? Human rights and civil rights organisations should raise their voices in courts against this cruelty happening in jails, appealing for justice, so that human rights, law, and the fundamental rights of citizens given in the Constitution can be protected.
ENDNOTES
[1] Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. It is imposed on undertrial prisoners, similar to the Preventive Detention Act. An administrative detention order can probably be issued for up to six months. It is generally imposed to control the prisoners.
Translated from an article by Vishwa Vijay on Jan Chowk
(https://www.janchowk.com/the-story-of-cruelty-in-bihars-buxar-jail/)
