Almost two years have passed and Sachin still faints periodically because of the head injuries allegedly suffered after he was brutally beaten by head constable Rajender Singh of the Dabri police station. His parents cannot afford to get him treated.

But now there is some relief in sight. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Delhi government to pay Sachin Rs 50,000 as interim relief. The money will be kept in a fixed deposit account in any nationalised bank, with his father as the natural guardian.The NHRC has also directed the Delhi government to pay for all of Sachin's medical expenses at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ``as long as there is such need for treatment''.

The commission took suo-moto (on its own) action based on news report which appeared on December 18, 1996, according to which a minor boy was beaten by a head constable for dropping his gilli near a police assistance booth. Sachin was playing gilli-danda with his friends on the street in front of his maternal uncle's house. His gilli rolled below the policeman's chair. Sachin approached Singh and repeatedly asked him to return the gilli. What he got instead was bruises.

First Singh slapped Sachin, then caught him by the neck, and next pushed him so hard that he hit his head on a concrete platform. He became uconscious and was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Meanwhile a mob gathered in front of the police booth, and what started as a murmur of discontent soon became a roar of anger. The boy's family members were also part of the crowd, and all of them shouted slogans against the local police.

According to NHRC's investigation division, while a chargesheet has been submitted in court (FIR no. 769/96) under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code and the investigation is complete, the hearing still hasn't started. According to the NHRC report: ``No compensation whatsoever has been paid to the victim or his family for the injury. The parents of the victim...belong to poor family and it has been communicated by them that the boy occasionally faints due to his head injury since the beating...they have not gone to any recognised hospital due to their poor economic state.''

Keeping in mind the ``senseless violence'' of the policeman, the Commission has also taken into consideration the ``well-known neurological complications that head injuries are prone to...neuro-pathological complications such as epilepsy could not be ruled out.''

According to the NHRC, both the government and the police have been casual and callous in their response. When the Chief Secretary was requested to send his response to the show-cause notice within four weeks, he didn't bother to do so even four-and-a-half months later. There was also no cooperation from the police. Repeated requests from Principal Secretary (Home) to the Police Commissioner were apparently ignored as the standard government response was: ``The matter is being examined... a report will follow shortly.''

``Shortly'' lapsed into months, and the NHRC registrar finally wrote to the Chief Secretary on April 28, 1998, to respond to the show-cause notice before May 12. According to the commission: ``Apparently, the Commissioner of Police has not yet been pleased to forward his comments to the government and the government, in turn, in the absence of the Police Commissioner's comment, seems to feel helpless in the matter. But the Commission wishes to say that it finds this kind of protracted correspondence both unbusinesslike and tiresome.''

NHRC sources today said that the administration has finally shed its inertia and has shown its willingness to act on the Commission's recommendations.It will finally be easier for Sachin's parents to sleep at night.