E/CN.4/2001/66 page 107 women were alleged to have been beaten on their chests and legs with lathis and rifle butts. They were allegedly kicked and thrown inside police jeeps where they were again beaten. Some of the women complained that the police had beaten them on their genitals. 538. Narendra Kumar Tak was reportedly picked up in Rajasthan by the Madhya Pradesh police and taken to Gwalior in June 1998. He was allegedly beaten and abused during the journey and upon arrival at the police station. He was then sent to Gwalior Central Jail, where he was allegedly tortured by other inmates. He is said to have been ill-treated at the instigation of the father of his brother’s wife, a lawyer and former Public Prosecutor from the Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh, who opposed the marriage. Following his release, a petition was reportedly sent to the National Human Rights Commission, which asked the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan police to provide reports. An urgent appeal was sent on behalf of his brother, Manoj Kumar Tak, on 12 January 2000 (see below). 539. Mohammad Maqbool Mir was reportedly arrested on 11 July 1998 by members of the army artillery camp of Chek Seri Pattan, Baramullah district, Kashmir. On 14 July, his body was reportedly handed over to his family. Serious injuries allegedly due to torture were said to be visible. 540. Kesar Singh, Block President of the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) and associated with the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab was reportedly threatened on several occasions by a police inspector that if he did not stop working for the PHRO he would have false cases filed against him. He was reportedly arrested by this police inspector on 28 July 1998 from his home in Kalewal village along with another man. The two were allegedly tortured by two police officers in the presence of the Superintendent of Police. They were reportedly stripped and dragged by their hair and their legs were stretched far apart. The Deputy Inspector General of Police is said to have informed him that they were going to eliminate human rights defenders by putting them in jails. Kesar Singh was remanded to judicial custody on 1 September 1998 and sent to Nabha Security Jail. 541. Mohammed Sikander Peer was reportedly arrested on 29 August 1998 by members of the Special Operation Group of Jaypur and Kashmir Police Kupwara and 12-Gharwal Regiment stationed at Salamatwari Kralpora. On the following day, his body was said to have been found outside the army camp of Salamatwari Kalmoona. His body allegedly bore marks of torture, including deep cuts and bullet marks. 542. Rajkumar, Ramavtar and Murlidhar, three social activists working for the Vindhya Vikas Lok Sanghatan (People’s Organization for Development of Vindhyas) were reportedly called to the Badausa police station in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh by the station house officer on 20 November 1998, in connection with a case that was pending in the Allahabad High Court against one of them. During interrogation, they were allegedly beaten. Medical reports indicate that the men sustained injuries caused by a blunt object. 543. Four human rights defenders associated with the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (Human Rights Action Committee) (MASS), in Assam, many of them journalists, were reportedly arrested on 23 February 1999 by police while putting up posters to advertise a