E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.1 page 49 without elaborating upon the evidence on which the conclusion was based. The Human Rights Cell, established by the Jammu and Kashmir State Government in June 1994, was reportedly headed by an inspector-general of police who is also in charge of the Kashmir intelligence service and also incorporates members of the paramilitary forces and army who themselves have been accused of committing serious human rights violations. 242. Torture victims or their relatives have reportedly had difficulty in filing complaints because local police were issued instructions not to file a first information report (FIR) without the permission of higher authorities. In addition, section 7 of the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act provides that unless approval is obtained from the central Government, "(n)o prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted ... against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers of the Act". This provision was said to allow the security forces to act with virtual impunity. 243. Doctors treating torture victims in Jammu and Kashmir were reported to have observed numerous cases of acute renal failure and to have named the phenomenon "physical torture nephropathy". The direct cause of the renal failure is a combination of dehydration during torture and the breakdown of soft tissue. The condition may lead to chronic kidney damage or even death. One common means of torture reported is "the roller", whereby the victims are forced to lie on their backs and a round pole is rolled over their legs and bodies with substantial force, often by two officials standing on each end of the pole and "walking" it over the victim. Rape was said to be carried out frequently to punish women suspected of being sympathetic or related to alleged militants and to intimidate the local population. Other methods of torture reported include beatings, forced distortion of joints, application of electric shocks, suspensions, burns, insertion of metal objects in the body, plunging into freezing water, dousing with boiling water, amputation of body parts such as fingers, and mock executions. 244. In a reply dated 8 December 1995, the Government informed the Special Rapporteur of the existence in India of various legal provisions which provided safeguards against the use of torture. These provisions include: the constitutional right of a person subjected to torture to move the higher courts for a remedy; the requirement under the Criminal Procedure Code that the police register and investigate complaints of torture; the right of an arrested person under the Code to receive a medical examination upon request to a magistrate; the inadmissibility in court of confessions to police officers and the requirement that a magistrate ensure that confessions or statements made by an accused are voluntary; the mandate under the Code for an inquiry be conducted by a magistrate into any death in police custody; and the prohibition under the Code of causing hurt to extort confessions or information from a person. The Government was at present considering making legal provisions for payment of financial relief to victims or their families of certain custodial crimes and the courts had in certain cases ordered such payments to be made. In addition, the National Human Rights Commission had made several recommendations for such compensation, which had been accepted by the Government.