Police In Line Of Vigilantes: The Dangerous Precedent Of Punishment In Madhya Pradesh

As courts continue to maintain that even arrest and detention cannot be used as a punitive measure, the recent instances from Madhya Pradesh have proven opposite as police themselves were seen carrying out the punishments, instead of the courts. Last week, two men accused of cow slaughter were paraded in public after their arrest in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain by the local police. While being paraded to court, they were allegedly compelled to chant “Gai hamari Mata Hari, police hamare baap hain (cow is our mother, police our father).”

The police were seen thrashing the youths with batons while they were escorted to court. Notably, the local right-wing groups, including the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, who filed the complaints, garlanded the police officials, including the station in charge, for their deplorable action. Several like-minded people on social media also praised the police personnel for their punitive actions against the cow slaughter accused.

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In another similar incident, in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh, police arrested at least five men accused of slaughtering cows. Following the youth’s arrest, their properties too were razed. Police also paraded them through the streets, claiming that the vehicles supposed to transport the accused to the court had some issues. Parading, humiliating the accused and demolishing their properties are not a lawful practices but something that would cause irreversible damage to the victims and their families.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had reprimanded police for parading suspects, wondering ‘what business police have.’ The court highlighted that even if they were proven innocent later, the incident would destroy the victims and their families, causing large-scale damage. “What business do the police have to do this? You (Center) must respond to whether guidelines exist and, if so, whether they are sufficient and are being followed,” the court asked, while underlining that it was obligatory upon the police/investigating agency to make every possible effort to restore the lost reputation and thereby ensuring the right to dignity of such individuals.

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Given the rising cases of punitive demolition drives in several states against the accused in certain specific cases, the Supreme Court had recently admonished the local authorities, saying that it would make the government rebuild the structures it had destroyed at its cost if the authorities demolish properties of the accused. Though cow slaughter is illegal in several states, police do not have the authority to parade the accused in public. After all, the case in which the police arrested the accused was filed by Hindu vigilantes, saying they found the accused driving a pick-up truck with a cow, which was enough for the justification of arrest and violence if the victims were minorities, or Muslims in particular.

Following the new norm, local police in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district arrested a group of youths, shaved their heads and paraded them in public for allegedly creating a ruckus during the celebration of India’s victory in the ICC Champions Trophy. Notably, the incident created an uproar, forcing BJP MLA Gayatri Raje Puar to meet Dewas superintendent of police Punit Gehlot, demanding their releases and calling the police action excessive. The MLA also said that an inquiry had been ordered into the matter, assuring them that the officers who beat up the youths would be held accountable.

However, it is clear that the Ujjain and Damoh instances are different, where the public and political elites seem to be less bothered about human rights abuses due to religious affiliations repudiating the law and the Constitution. It is no longer news that the police and the government use the law to discriminate against Muslims, with several reports of the police’s outright impartiality in discharging their duty. In 2023, following a false case, which the court later dismissed, a teenager was made to spend 151 days in jail, apart from losing his home due to the demolition drive carried out by the municipal authorities.

Though it is true that every person is biased, civil servants are supposed to hide theirs and serve the public impartially, and it is up to the judiciary to ensure public trust by holding those responsible accountable.