CAT/C/68/D/568/2013 majority of the 19 million Sikhs in India live in Punjab, there are thriving Sikh communities all over India and Sikhs are free to practise their religion and have access to education, employment, health care and housing across the country. 14 Many Sikhs hold positions of prominence, including recently a Sikh Prime Minister and a Sikh head of the army. 15 Sikhs are free to move to any state in India; they do not face legal or procedural difficulties in relocating and are not required to register their residences when doing so. 16 While proof of residence may be required to purchase land, to renew one’s passport or to register on the electoral roll, none of these actions require interaction with the police. 17 Moreover, Sikhs who move from Punjab to other parts of India are not normally viewed with heightened suspicion, nor harassed by local police, simply because of their religion or regional origin. 18 Country reports do not suggest that the situation is different for Sikhs from Jammu. Country reports submitted by the complainant do not suggest that Sikhs from Jammu face particular challenges in relocating within India. There exists no general risk of ill-treatment for Sikhs who are returned to India.19 Only the highest-profile Sikh militants are at risk of arrest or of being pursued outside of Punjab. 20 These include individuals who are either perceived leaders of a militant group or suspects in a terrorist attack. 21 An individual would not normally be considered a high-profile militant simply as a result of having strong political views, being politically active or having a family member who is believed to be a high-profile militant.22 4.11 Moreover, even where a country report indicates that Sikhs who hold or advocate particular political opinions may be subject to harassment, detention, arbitrary arrest or torture, such occurrences are typically confined to Punjab.23 Country reports24 indicate that the actions of local police in Punjab are most often not politically or religiously motivated towards a particular group or cause; rather, police in that region fabricate charges under the guise of suppressing threats in order to extract bribes. While some reports indicate that local police would pursue targeted individuals across state borders, subjecting them and their families to ill-treatment, other sources state that Punjabi police would require a court order and inter-state cooperation to do so, making such cases rare. 25 Therefore, where an individual’s fear is based on treatment at the hands of local police and the individual lacks any profile of interest to the central Indian authorities, internal relocation to other areas of India is a feasible option for managing alleged risk of future harm. 26 4.12 The State party would not be removing the complainant to Jammu in particular, but to another region in India, where he can avail himself of an internal flight alternative. His characteristics, including his education in mechanical engineering and the fact that he speaks Hindi, do not render him unable to live safely in other parts of India and he has provided no evidence that he would be perceived as a high-profile militant or terrorist suspect. Furthermore, as the complainant states in his personal information form, he resided in New Delhi for three months and one month in Punjab immediately prior to his arrival in Canada, without incident. The complainant has not substantiated his claim that authorities 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 United Kingdom, Home Office, “Operational guidance note: India”, para. 3.9.15. Ibid. and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “India: situation of Sikhs outside the state of Punjab, including treatment by authorities; ability of Sikhs to relocate within India, including challenges they may encounter (2009–April 2013)” (Ottawa, 13 May 2013). United Kingdom, Home Office, “Operational guidance note: India”, para. 3.9.12. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “India: situation of Sikhs”, para. 3. Ibid, para. 3.1. See United States, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, “India: information on relocation for Sikhs from Punjab to other parts of India” (16 May 2003). United Kingdom, Home Office, “Operational guidance note: India”, para. 3.9.13. Reference is made, inter alia, to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Research Directorate), “India: information from four specialists on the Punjab” (Ottawa, 17 February 1997). Ibid. See United States, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration, “India: information on relocation for Sikhs from Punjab to other parts of India”. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “India: situation of Sikhs outside the state of Punjab”, para. 2. Ibid, para. 3.2. Ibid. Reference is made, inter alia, to the United Kingdom, Home Office, “Operational guidance note: India” (London, September 2005), para. 3.7.8. 7