The Kolkata Police entered the university, allegedly dragged and injured students including girls, and detained many as they raged against the alleged sexual assault on a student after a college fest.
The city’s police chief claims his officers exercised restraint. The students believe otherwise and want the police punished. The students believe the police action was yet another instance of abuse of power.
“In many parts of india, the police is the only visible state presence. police say that there is pressure from the public to punish crimes. this leads to the police acting as judge and jury, beating up suspects who are presumed guilty without trial ” – Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director, Human Rights watch
Custodial violations include unlawful detention, illegal arrests, custodial deaths and torture. The numbers do not show the police in shining light.
Around 3,963 cases of unlawful detention were reported from 2011 till July this year. Of these cases, 3,069 have been disposed of and 894 are pending.
In the same period, 2,532 cases of illegal arrests were reported against the police —2,127 cases have been disposed of and 405 are pending.
Surprisingly, Delhi, a relatively small state, comes second in the number of illegal arrests, unlawful detention and tortures in police custody. Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, tops all the charts.