Biraj Adhikari, (then) Secretary General of the Sikkim Democratic Front, was arrested on 24 June 1993 and tortured in police custody. He suffered serious wounds to his feet and, according to an independent medical examination, may be permanently disabled. AI is concerned about the torture of Biraj Adhikari, particularly as there has been no independent and impartial inquiry. AI is concerned about peristent reports of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of opposition politicians in Sikkim. Other instances of torture include: the alleged beating to death of local Congress (I) activist Dharma Dutta Sharma in February 1988; the death in detention, allegedly due to torture, of Dhan Raj Tamang in December 1993; the beating of Duk Nath Nepal, CPI(M) member, in October 1992; the illegal detention and beating of Rajinder Baid, editor of Janpath Samachar, in November 1991; and the detention of Hem Lall Bhandari, a Sikkimese lawyer resident in Bombay.
