In India or in any civilized society, the killing of accused or criminals in an encounter or in police or judicial custody is a stain on the entire system. This crime is a stain on the justice system and social order. No matter how serious the allegations against any person are, it is not the job of the police to punish him. He will be punished by the court as per law. Police has no right to judge. And these innocent stories of the police also do not make any sense that the handcuffed accused snatched weapons from the policemen or tried to run away and in the process was killed by the police.
Such delightful stories make fun of the entire justice system. But surprisingly, courts usually believe these stories. It is good that the High Court has not believed the story of Akshay Shinde being killed in an encounter in Badlapur, Maharashtra. The court has said that there are so many holes in the police story that it is difficult to believe it. But even when the courts do not believe the police stories, the issue is resolved after some rebuke or strictness.
There is no concrete initiative to stop such incidents. Keep in mind that in India, fake encounters are considered a crime and a violation of fundamental rights, but according to an old data of the National Human Rights Commission, there were 1,728 fake encounters in India between 2002 and 2017.
However, the real encounter takes place with terrorists or Naxalites. The real encounter takes place in Dantewada, where brave soldiers lose their lives. The real encounter takes place in Jammu and Kashmir, where 10 soldiers were martyred in July this year. The real encounter took place during the terrorist attack on Mumbai, in which many decorated and brave officers of Mumbai Police were martyred. The encounters that the police of this state or that state do, in which a cop gets shot in the arm or someone gets shot in the thigh, are usually fake. If these STF or ATS personnel of the state police are so brave then they should be immediately sent to Bastar and Dantewada or Kashmir and Manipur.
The reality is that most of the STFs or ATS formed in the states have become responsible for creating or controlling the perception of the state governments on law and order. When the question of law and order arises and people get angry then these people kill some accused in encounters. For this they get rewarded. Some people in the society applaud them but they do not know that they are creating a demon, of which they themselves can become victims.
However, right now the country is agitated over three incidents of encounter. At some places people are also thrilled. But what about the people? These are three representative incidents. One of these incidents is from Uttar Pradesh, the second is from Maharashtra and the third is from Tamil Nadu. That means the story of North, West and South India is similar. A few days ago, a robbery took place in Uttar Pradesh, in which one of the alleged accused, Mangesh Yadav, was killed in an encounter by the STF of UP Police. In the pictures that appeared in the media after the encounter, the officers leading the team were in slippers only and no one was wearing the combat dress worn in the encounter. A lot of jokes were made about this. But political controversy also started regarding this encounter.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of Mangesh Yadav’s death and mentioned the survival of the other accused Anuj Pratap Singh. After this the debate of Thakurism versus Yadavism started in the media. When the argument escalated, the police also killed Anuj Pratap Singh. After this, the work of perception management started in a very shameless manner, in which it was said that no caste is spared in this rule.
There are two fundamental flaws in this propaganda. First of all, it is not the job of the police to kill an accused and they cannot take credit that they did justice and did not spare anyone? Secondly, taking someone’s life to manage perception about the government is not acceptable in a civilized society and democratic system, but is a matter of shame.
The second incident is from Maharashtra, where Akshay Shinde, who sexually abused minor girls in Badlapur, was killed in an encounter by the state police. Akshay Shinde was in the custody of the Crime Branch of Thane Police. He was also accused of raping his wife and Thane police took him to Badlapur for investigation. Police later said that he tried to escape from police custody and opened fire on the police, injuring a soldier. In retaliation, police killed Akshay Shinde. Think, how many holes are there in this story?
First of all, why would an accused, surrounded by police from all sides, take the risk of running away? Secondly, how will the handcuffed accused snatch the weapon from the police and also open fire? And the most important question that the High Court asked is that what does an officer of the level of Assistant Police Inspector not know that in such a situation they shoot in the leg? Accused Akshay Shinde has been hit by only one bullet and that too in the head!
Just a few days ago, Uttarakhand Police had narrated such an innocent story that the accused ran away from the police and died by drowning in the pond. In Uttar Pradesh too, an accused escaped from police arrest and died by drowning in a pond. Think, does this happen anywhere? But in India, not only this happens, but these police stories are also believed. In Akshay Shinde’s case, when the story became too unbelievable, a CID inquiry was set up, which would definitely justify the encounter. If the common people celebrated this death and distributed laddus, what judicial action will be taken after that? Have the people given their verdict? People are also becoming violent and to some extent zombies.
However, the third incident is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. An accused named Seesing Raja was killed by the police in an encounter in Chennai. He faced 30 cases including murder and attempt to murder and was wanted in several cases. He was also accused of murdering BSP leader Armstrong. But later it was revealed that he had no involvement in that incident. Seesing Raja was arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police and handed over to Chennai Police. He was also in police custody. The police there also told the same innocent story that he tried to escape from the police custody and attacked the police and was killed in retaliation.
Went.
Think, what a convenient argument! With this logic, the police can kill someone, then what will happen to the rule of law? Do governments and courts not understand that if organized forces like police continue to get such leeway and citizens who have been deprived of justice for years and decades continue to support it, then what kind of dire situation will arise in the coming days? Such incidents have to be stopped before we reach that situation.