"I say it with all sense of responsibility that there is not a single lawless group in the whole country whose record of crime is anywhere near the record of that organized unit which is known as the Indian Police Force." (Justice A N Mulla, Allahabad High Court, 1961)
"In the above period it was estimated that 43.2 per cent of the expenditure in the connected jails was over such prisoners only who in the ultimate analysis need not have been arrested at all." (National Police Commission, third report)
The 2009 Human Rights Watch report on Police in India
Wikileaks cables (here and here) on police brutality and extra-judicial killings in India
The Bhagalpur Blindings case
Forbesganj Police Firing
The Hashimpura massacre
The Jaswant Singh Khalra case
The curious case of Sumedh Singh Saini
The Malimath Committee Report
(to be continued)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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All the cases you listed happened in Northern India.
In Northern India, Police are viewed as stupid jackasses who have been given a baton to wield. A baton that can be used to beat the jackasses as well. In Southern India Police are viewed as smart,clever and symbols of authority.
In Northern India you are considered smart if you found a way of hoodwinking the law for self gain. In Southern India you would know hoodwinking the law means jail time sooner or later.
The basic problem North or South is: People do not respect the law because it is necessary for the good of the community. If at all they follow the law, it is because of fear of consequences. The baton can be viewed many ways - a stick to be feared, a stick to beat the criminal, a stick to beat the authority or a stick that can be waved to maintain the order and harmony. Unfortunately in India no one views a police man like the conductor of an orchestra, perhaps this is so because the concept of orchestra itself is alien to Indian culture.
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