Cops evoke activists’ ire for public bashing of criminals

* Two accused in the Mayur alias Mehul R Barot murder case were thrashed by police. The two later complained to Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha.

The recent incidents of police meting out punishment to criminals in public have attracted criticism, with advocates and human rights activists saying it is contrary to the Supreme Court’s guidelines.

It is common for the city police to bind accused with ropes, parade them around the streets and beat them up in public. Even while presenting the criminal in court, he is tied with ropes, much like one would do cattle.

Lower level police officers defend these practices, saying these are necessary to elicit a confession, and to prevent the accused from running away.

An inspector, who did not want to be quoted, said mere questioning always proves futile as hardended criminals refuse to reveal a word. He was against beating the accused in public for obvious reason, but admitted that certain police officer did it to make an impact on the people.

Another officer said parading and beating up criminals before the public was necessary to create fear among those who are criminally inclined. It is a warning that those who dared to commit crime would be dealt with in a similar fashion.

On criminals being bound with ropes, he said it was necessary to prevent them from escaping. He further said there were several instances of criminals escaping from police custody when they were not tied or handcuffed.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Narsinh Komar expressed his disapproval over such cruelty, but said in several cases senior officials remained unaware of the incidents. He said he would inquire into the recent incidents and if it was found that any official had used force, action would be taken.

Range Inspector General P L Jani, too, expressed ignorance about the recent incidents of police atrocity. He, however, said they were not justified and the incidents would be looked into. Jani further said he would also instruct senior officials to refrain from violating human rights of the accused.

Human rights activist B L Sharma said senior officers should take a serious view of such incidents. The Supreme Court has banned even handcuffs, leave alone binding the criminal or parading him in public, Sharma said, adding that the apex court directives were binding on all. “No one except the courts have a right to punish anyone”, he said.

Rajkot Bar Association president Mahesh Trivedi echoed similar views, saying the law should be allowed to take its own course and police had no right to interfere with it. He too called for action against officials involved in recent incidents of police atrocity in public.

Senior criminal advocate Lalitsingh Sahi said that, according to law, no one is guilty unless proved in court. The police are prosecutors, and not judges, so they should not take the law in their hands. The police in the recent cases was contempt of the Supreme Court, he said, and called for government intervention to stop such practices.