At the behest of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, the State police have launched a probe into the ‘credentials’ of 14 human rights NGOs headquartered in Bengaluru. The list includes well-established organisations such as the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) and the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), which have described this move as “outrageous.”
Verifying ‘credibility’The police will examine and verify the documents of these NGOs, and submit a report on their credibility. Several organisations have objected to the probe on the grounds that it is self-defeating, given that a bulk of rights violation cases are against the police. While most organisations are open to verification by the KSHRC, the fact that it is routed through the police is what they have taken strong objection to.
