The World - News from Aug. 10, 1988

Thousands of people have been detained, tortured and killed by Indian police and security forces, Amnesty International charged. In a report on India’s human rights record since August, 1987, the London-based rights group said the violations have occurred since the passage of a constitutional amendment in March that allows the government to proclaim a state of emergency. The group urged the government to abolish the death penalty, restore legal safeguards and set up independent investigations in cases of death in custody. In response, a Indian Home Ministry spokesman said: “The legal system is quite independent and can take care of such complaints.”