CAT/C/62/D/702/2015
village council. He then decided to leave, and went to another village to stay with relatives.
While he was away the police continued to harass his family.
2.5
On 12 July 2011, the police raided his home again and, as they did not find the
complainant, they arrested his son (the second complainant). He was taken to the police
station, where he was questioned about his father’s and Gurmukh Singh’s whereabouts and
tortured. He was slapped, punched and kicked; hung upside down from the ceiling by a
rope; his thighs were rolled over with a roller; he was beaten on his buttocks with leather
belts; he was stripped naked and plunged into water; he was kicked in the genitals; and he
was forced to drink his own urine. He also claims that one of his toenails was pulled out
with pliers. Under the pressure of torture, he revealed his father’s whereabouts. The police
raided the village where the first complainant was hiding (Shahpur), but he managed to
escape. On 13 July, the second complainant was released after paying a bribe and after the
village council guaranteed that the father would present himself to the police. The second
complainant also claims that the police took his photograph and fingerprints and forced him
to sign blank documents. After medical treatment for his injuries, 9 the complainants decided
to leave the country.
2.6
On 3 November 2011, the complainants arrived in Canada on visitor visas. 10 On 1
August 2013, the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration Refugee Board denied
the complainants’ asylum claims. On 3 December, the Federal Court rejected the
complainants’ application for leave for judicial review of the Division’s decision. On 28
July 2015, the complainants’ pre-removal risk assessment was denied by the immigration
authorities. They considered that the complainants did not fit the profile of persons for
whom police would search nationwide; therefore, the complainants did not demonstrate a
subjective risk of persecution if deported to India. On 18 September, the complainants
applied for leave to seek judicial review of the pre-removal risk assessment and for a stay
of removal pending the determination of the leave application. Stay of removal was
declined after a hearing on 24 September by the Federal Court of Canada.11 An application
for permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was denied on
10 November. A further application for permanent resident status on humanitarian and
compassionate grounds was filed on 7 December. 12
2.7
The complainants claim that after they left their country, the police continued to
harass the wife and daughter, accusing the complainants of financing Sikh militants from
abroad. Therefore, the wife and daughter decided to leave the village of Gurdawara and
went to live with the wife’s brother, Avtar Singh, in another village, Johal Bolina. In
September 2015, after the complainants’ claim was rejected on the basis of the pre-removal
risk assessment, they asked their family to go to Gurdawara to see what the situation was.
On 10 September, the wife and her brother went to Gurdawara. While they were at the
complainants’ home, the police arrived and arrested Avtar Singh. The complainants claim
that the police had been informed about their presence at the family’s house. Avtar Singh
was tortured by the police. He suffered several severe head injuries, including a fractured
skull and a broken leg, and he had several bruises on the chest and lower back. 13 He was
released on 15 September, after a bribe was paid by the village council. The complainants
claim that Avtar Singh passed away on 24 September 14 as a result of the injuries he suffered
from the torture by the police. 15
2.8
The complainants state that the reason that they did not return to India is that they
are still being sought by police in Punjab, who were waiting at the airport on their
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
The second complainant provides a medical note dated 19 December 2012 confirming that he
received treatment from 13 to 19 July 2011 for pain, contusions, bruises and swelling all over the
body and especially the legs, buttocks and soles of the feet.
Valid until 13 April 2012.
The complainants had legal representation for the hearing.
The outcome is not known. The complainants say this can take four years.
The complainants provide a medical note dated 16 September 2015 confirming his stay in hospital as
a result of these injuries.
The death certificate and translation were provided. The cause of death does not appear. See page 95
of the original submission.
A signed statement by Avtar Singh is attached which describes the above events.
3