Human Rights Monitoring Forum (HRMF)

Uttar Pradesh

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 29 April, 2019 regarding the attempt to harass and threaten people working under Human Rights Monitoring Forum, Lucknow by the police personnel.

HRMF works on issues related to police violence, especially custodial torture and child rights. On 18 April 2019, three police personnel in plain clothes reportedly from PGI police station and Aashiana police station of Lucknow and members of Special Task Force forcibly entered into the office premise of Human Rights Monitoring Forum. The members of HRMF protested against the unauthorised entry of police personnel in their office as the police personnel did not provide them any legal warrant for search and did not explain their presence. Enraged by the protest, the police personnel started intimidating the members of HRMF and tried to threaten them for their actions and interventions in cases of human rights violation against people where police are involved. Sources say that the police was trying to pick up Mr. Avinash Shukla, the victim of police violence who they were helping at that particular occasion. The victim has asked for legal help from HRMF and the organisation’s legal team had taken up his case. When HRMF members strongly opposed the police action, they left the place and threatened them with dire consequences if they continued to work against the police.

HRDA prayed for thorough, transparent, effective and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned incident of targeting and threatening members of Human Rights Monitoring Forum.