The Staged Spectacle Of Encounters In Uttar Pradesh

While the police later clarified that it was not an official encounter but a criminal act of a delinquent policeman, it raised a question if the state government바카라�s lenient police policy had led to the incident.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of Yadav바카라�s case and warned the government that 바카라�creating an atmosphere of fear is not the correct way to deal with the crime바카라� and said 바카라�it seems that the police personnel are feeling free, misusing their power in the light of an undeclared endorsement given by the higher-ups. They are using their privileges to settle scores with the people바카라�.

These 바카라�encounters바카라� have been used not just against those accused of running criminal gangs and henchmen of tainted politicians but also in stray cases of crime such as theft, kidnapping, and sexual assault. In police press statements and press conferences, the word 바카라�mutbhed바카라� (encounter) has become routine.

The recent deaths of gangster and former Samajwadi Party leader Atiq Ahmed and his son Asad has brought the focus back on encounter killings. While Asad, 19, was gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi on April 13, two days later, Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range in Prayagraj by three persons who claimed to be journalists.

On April 24, the state government lauded its law and order performance as a success and said: 바카라�Aaj UP no curfew, no danga. UP me sab, sab aur changa. Mafia apradhi ho gaye ateet, suraksha, khushali aur rozgaar ka ab bana hai prateek.바카라�

A Long List of Encounters

In March 2023, the Uttar Pradesh police claimed in a press release that they had nabbed 5,967 criminals in 10,713 encounters during the past six-years, while 1,708 criminals and 55 police personnel were injured.

바카라�Improving the law and order situation in the state is a priority ... the state government has adopted a policy of 바카라�zero tolerance바카라� against mafias and intensified crackdown on anti-social elements to strengthen UP바카라�s law and order situation바카라�, the release said.

The statements by state politicians over the past six years provide credence to this perception that the state police should be feared and dreaded. In 2017, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that under the BJP, criminals in UP were terrified with the thought that 바카라�either they will have to give up crime or leave UP, or maybe even leave this world바카라�.

SR Darapuri, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who served under several state governments, says that while encounters happened earlier too, 바카라�never before did the state exhibit it as a personal achievement바카라�.

He adds that in the name of tackling crime through hard action, a fear psychosis has been created in the state.

바카라�There is no rule of law. There is an insecurity among people that the police can do anything and get away with it. But there should be fear of law and not of police,바카라� he says.

Retired IPS officer Meera Borwankar, too, feels the police action has official endorsement.  

바카라�What is happening in UP has definite blessings of the administration. There is no doubt about it,바카라� says Borwankar.

Encounter: A Contested Term

The term 바카라�encounter바카라� is often contested by human rights activists who allege these operations are more likely to be staged and planned executions and not spontaneous shootouts. However, the state  has provided direction to this policy through calls of 바카라�thok denge바카라� and 바카라�iss mafia ko mitti mein mila denge바카라�.  Earlier, the state government had empowered senior officers to announce increased cash rewards to police personnel for arresting criminals. These bounties are often cited as evidence of criminality when these suspects are shot in 바카라�encounters.바카라�

The government바카라�s stance, however, has been criticised by human rights defenders as well as political opponents. In a 2021 report titled 바카라�Extinguishing law and life바카라�Police Killings and Cover up in the State of Uttar Pradesh바카라�, the Youth for Human Rights Documentation, Citizens Against Hate and People바카라�s Watch questioned the state바카라�s motivation behind the use of the euphemism 바카라�police encounter바카라�.

바카라�It becomes clear that it is used to validate policing methods and deflect from legal accountability. It allows the police and security forces to disregard the rule of law and commit grave human rights violations, and instead promote vigilante justice by celebrating the actions of police officials in eliminating alleged criminals without accountability,바카라� the report said.

After a spate of allegations of fake encounters, the People바카라�s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding that they be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigating Team (SIT) comprising police officers of integrity and who have not served in UP.

바카라�The impunity with which the police encounters have been taking place is endorsed by the state government,바카라� the PUCL said.

The UP government told the SC in a counter affidavit, 바카라�The police do not go looking for violence, nor use any force more than necessary, but in some cases, due to the actions of the criminal being apprehended, a situation arises in a sudden and inevitable manner in which the police personnel are constrained to use lawful and proportionate force in self-defence in carrying out the duty assigned to them.바카라�

Ground Reality

Despite this benign stance in court, in reality, the state has been aggressive in pushing its image of a land where encounters are justified, endorsed, and necessary. In 2018, the Aligarh police came under the scanner after the police called local scribes to a spot during an operation where two persons were shot dead.

This frenzy was once again on display in the 2020 Vikas Dubey case. The killing of the Kanpur-based history-sheeter whose gang killed eight policemen in an ambush in July 2020 in Bikru village, raised eyebrows for its brazenness.

The judiciary is yet to forcefully intervene in this matter despite several instances of doubt over the authenticity of encounters. In the Vikas Dubey killing, the SC accepted the state바카라�s version even though it was questioned by all quarters and viewed as a brazen act of revenge killing by the police. In a rare instance, the Allahabad High Court in 2022 directed the Jhansi Police to register an FIR against policemen accused of killing Pushpendra Yadav in a 바카라�fake encounter바카라� in 2019 because he had threatened to expose the local SHO for demanding bribe from him in return for promising to free his seized truck.

바카라�Citizens seem to be happy with instant justice called encounters. But for a democracy it heralds a collapse of criminal justice system. Unfortunately, the UP government and its citizens consider it a 바카라�positive hit바카라� not a negative one,바카라� says Borwankar.

Retired UP DGP AK Jain, however, says that under the present government, crime has been controlled to a large extent. Jain, who had earlier also headed the UP STF, says he had seen phases where 250-300 encounter killings were carried out by police every year and adds: 바카라�I don바카라�t remember a year when these allegations were not made that the UP police encounters are fake.바카라� 

According to Borwankar, rather than 바카라�advertising encounters바카라�, UP needs to invest in putting their resources in efficient court trials so that a criminal is checked much before he becomes a don, police and prosecutor바카라�s training, prompt court trials and the use of technology for an efficient criminal justice system.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

This appeared in print as "Staged Spectacle"