E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.1 page 52 259. Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, reportedly arrested by the army on 31 December 1994 during operations in his village of Chak Yama, near Handwara, Kupwara, was taken to the army camp at Kalm Chaklat. It was reported that at the camp a wooden roller was run over his legs, his legs were forcibly pulled and held apart, he was forced to crawl on frozen snow, his feet were burnt repeatedly on a hot stove and he was beaten frequently with bamboo sticks. On 12 January he was transferred to the army camp at Langet and was allegedly subjected to torture for a further 10 days. He was thereafter transferred to the Joint Interrogation Centre in Baramullah and two days later, when his physical condition had deteriorated, to the army base at Badami Bagh in Srinagar. He was released in critical condition on 7 February to the custody of local police, who brought him to the Bone and Joint hospital. He had developed gangrene of the feet and left hand and had to undergo amputations below both knees and of four of fingers of his left hand. The local police reportedly refused to register a first information report against the army. 260. The Government replied that on 1 January 1995 Nazir Ahmad Sheikh had tried to flee upon seeing an army patrol and was chased and taken in for questioning. He had been barefoot and was suffering from frostbite. During questioning he confessed to being a militant and, after weapons were recovered, he was brought back to the army post and kept in a warm room and provided food and shoes. He was taken to hospital by local police, but when he refused treatment was released on bail so that he could get himself treated on his own. It was not true that his injuries had resulted from torture. 261. Baba Sewa Singh, reportedly arrested on 24 September 1993 at Sri Guru Angad Dev college, Khandoor Sahib, Punjab, was allegedly subjected to the "roller treatment" at Khandoor Sahib police station, during which he was forced to lie naked on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. His feet were pulled in opposite directions by police officers and an iron roller was moved up and down his legs for five or six minutes by three men sitting on the roller. The treatment was repeated four times in the space of an hour. Doctors confirmed that tiny fractures in his thigh bones and smashed hips were consistent with his allegations of torture. 262. The Government replied that Baba Sewa Singh had not been arrested by the police of Verowal police station on 24 September 1993 and the allegation was therefore baseless. 263. Biraj Adhikari, Vice-President of the opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), was reportedly detained on 24 June 1993 two days after he had led an opposition demonstration. He was allegedly tortured by six police personnel at Sadar police station, during which he was beaten severely on the soles of his feet and palms of his hands with a danda (stick), his chest was stamped upon with boots after a sack had been placed over his head, threats were made against his life and the lives of his family. He was allegedly beaten with a wooden pole with a protruding nail, which punctured his soles, and made to frog-jump on the floor. He lost consciousness due to loss of blood and was taken to hospital. Medical reports revealed the presence of multiple contusions and broken bones in both feet, soles, ankles and the lower parts of