Police brutality is still not something of the past. The recent allegations made by Nitin Chinien shows that the scourge is still present in our society. The latter went to the Complaints Investigation Bureau (CIB) with his lawyer, Kishore Pertab, yesterday to make a statement. However, human rights activists continue to point at the fact that the CIB is not an independent institution. ?It is impossible for policemen to enquire into an affair that involves directly some of their colleagues,? Rajni Lallah, member of Justice points out. This is why an independent body, promised by the prime minister for more than a year, is more than ever a must.

?I still do not know why the police decided to go through my suitcase at Jan Palach bus station in Curepipe,? says Nitin Chinien. He allegedly saw two persons coming towards him, saying they were policemen and wanted to see what there was in his suitcase. He then saw the driver of a white car tell the two policemen to take him to the station. And this is where, he says, his ordeal started? ?As an artist, Nitin Chinien knows his rights very well and asked the policemen why they wanted to take him to the station. The policemen might not have known who he was and were not very happy to see that the young man was standing up to them,? his lawyer says.

The policemen allegedly started beating him in the car and blows and humiliations continued at the station where he says he was forced to present a song as if he were on air. It is only after signing a statement ? of which he does know the content ? that he was allowed to go home after being threatened not to relate this story.

Kishore Pertab wonders whether it is normal to arrest a citizen and go through his suitcase as the police did. And he reminds that, even if there had been any problem between the artist and the police, the latter should have resorted to the criminal code, which makes provision for ?insults?. ?The police are not allowed to play with the law,? he says.

This case raises again the problem of the police investigating their own colleagues. Soon after the death of Rajesh Ramlogun under police custody, the prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, said, in an interview to l?express, ?I have already announced in Parliament that my government would come forward with a legislation allowing the setting up of independent investigations.?

?The Bill was expected to be presented in March last year but nothing has occurred up to now,? regrets Rajni Lallah, who is also a member of the support committee for Nitin Chinien. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) made the same recommendation in 2005 and 2006.

Meanwhile, allegations continue to rain at Justice. ?And the cases reported in the press or with the association are only the tip of the iceberg.? Nitin Chinien appears to be the 29th case reported since August 2005. ?And we have realised that most cases reported are made against the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID),? Rajni Lallah says. The violence described by alleged victims takes various forms but all point at ?unnatural actions?.

According to the member of Justice, many cases are reported to take place at Jan Palach bus station in Curepipe and they seem to target young students. ?Recently, a student was buying a cigarette near the bus station while going to school when he said a CID member came and talked to him. When he asked the policeman who he was, the latter suddenly lost his temper, started to beat him and took him to the CID office. His chance was that his aunt was walking nearby at that moment and went to see him at the CID office. But the police seemed to have already had time to beat him and he collapsed, as he is epileptic,? Rajni Lallah relates.

<B>No real power</B>

This case is now being dealt with by the NHRC. However, the latter can only hold hearings of witnesses and pass the case on to the Director of Public Prosecutions if they find it necessary. They have no real power.

?At the moment, we have no other choice than to go through to the CIB. In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king! Of course, the ideal situation would not be that the police enquires over the police but if I went to the NHRC, they would tell me they can?t lead an investigation so I would be back to square one. The CIB remains the sole option until the government finally decides to come forward with an independent institution or another procedure,? says Kishore Pertab.

Justice now hopes that the MPs and municipal and village councillors take their responsibilities by passing the message on to decision-makers. The problem is that the situation will continue to deteriorate as long as the police do not feel that they could meet punishment for their actions?