‘No place for Singham-giri’: Pune cops earn a frown over viral sit-up videos

This is the second such instance in two days in which the MSHRC has pulled up Pune police. On Monday, it took suo motu cognisance of a video showing three minor murder accused tied to a police vehicle bonnet, paraded, and allegedly forced to kneel and walk.

The Indian Express had reported in April on the growing “walk of shame” trend across Maharashtra, in which accused persons were publicly punished and filmed apologising on camera. In some videos, they were made to say the district’s name and call it “kaydyacha balekilla” (a fortress of law and order).

In its Tuesday order, the MSHRC full bench comprising Chairperson Justice A M Badar and members Justice Swapna Joshi and retired IPS officer Sanjay Kumar observed: “Mere glance at the stills from the video clip… makes it clear that Pune Police are unstoppable in ‘Singhamgiri’ culture, showing total disregard to the rule of law. This seems to be a case of blatant violation of human rights by police from Kalepadal Police Station.”

The commission said Senior Police Inspector Girisha Nimbalkar, under the guise of an anti-noise and anti-pollution traffic safety drive, had assumed the roles of both police officer and judge by making motorcyclists perform sit-ups in public while holding their ears, removing illegal silencers, lining them up on the road, and getting them crushed under a road roller.

“In such a manner the said police officer acted as investigator and then assumed the role of a Judge, imposed physical punishment to the arrested accused and demolished the property of the motorcyclists,” the order said, adding that this was done without registration of an FIR, trial or a court order.

The commission also said the officer appeared to have identified and sealed a shop selling motorcycle spare parts, thereby breaching the owner’s fundamental right to livelihood.

It observed that the repeated instances pointed to “failure or negligence” on the part of senior Pune police officers in protecting the human rights of suspects and accused.

“In any democratic society… the role of the police is strictly linked to investigation of crimes, maintenance of law and order, and apprehension of suspects. Police hold no legal authority to determine guilt or impose punishment,” the order said.

It added that such extrajudicial punishments violate Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, undermine the presumption of innocence, and strip individuals of their dignity.

“We feel that when law enforcement resorts to unconstitutional, street-level punishments… it normalises police brutality and creates a culture of impunity,” the commission said, adding that glorifying “Singham” culture by real police officers destroys the rule of law and prejudices the rights of suspects before trial.

The commission directed the Chief Secretary and the Maharashtra DGP to file affidavits on the action taken, sought replies from the Pune Police Commissioner, the zonal DCP and the senior inspector concerned, and constituted a fact-finding committee under MSHRC Special IG Datta Karale to submit its report within a week.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told The Indian Express, “ Responsibility will be fixed on the officers who have indulged in this behaviour and sensitisation programmes will be carried out to ensure they don’t behave in this manner. They have been asked to minutely follow the law and human rights guidelines in all cases.”
An official from MSHRC said that given the seriousness of the issue continuously being reported from one part, for the first time in nearly a decade the MSHRC full bench was constituted in the matter.

An officer from the DGP’s office said no instructions had been issued to police personnel to create such reels and that the practice is discouraged.