information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity". The Committee considers that the issue of whether the State party has an obligation to refrain from expelling a person who might risk pain or suffering inflicted by a nongovernmental entity, without the consent or acquiescence of the Government, falls outside the scope of article 3 of the Convention. Consequently, the issue, on which the authors base part of their claim that they would suffer torture by LTTE or other non-governmental entities on return to Sri Lanka, cannot be considered by the Committee. 9.6 With respect to the possibility of the author suffering torture at the hands of the State on return to Sri Lanka, the Committee notes the author's allegations that he was tortured by the Sri Lankan army in December 1990 and that this treatment, which left him disabled, amounted to torture in terms of article 3 of the Convention. It also notes the allegations that he was maltreated by the police in Colombo in 1991. However, the Committee also notes the State party's contention, unchallenged by the author, that he left Sri Lanka regularly and always returned, even after the incident in December 1990. The Committee notes that with respect to the incident in March 1992, which according to the author was the reason for his departure, he was not maltreated and was released by the authorities. Furthermore, the author has not indicated that since that period he has been sought by the authorities. In fact, the author has not alleged to have been engaged in political or other activity within or outside the State, or alleged any other circumstance which would appear to make him particularly vulnerable to the risk of being placed in danger of torture. For the above-mentioned reasons, the Committee finds that the author has not provided substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being tortured were he to be returned to Sri Lanka and that such danger is personal and present. 9.7 Similarly, the author's wife and their daughter have never been arrested or subjected to torture. The obligation to register at the police station at Colombo and the allegation, challenged by the State party, that the police took her identity card are not substantial grounds for believing that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture were they to be returned to Sri Lanka and that such danger is personal and present. 9.8 The Committee recalls that, for the purposes of article 3 of the Convention, the individual concerned must face a foreseeable, real and