Enforcement of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, will go a long way in curbing criminal tendencies among police personnel, feels P. Mohanadas, judicial member of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission.
Calling custodial deaths “one of the most important violations of human rights and fundamental rights”, Mr. Mohanadas pointed out that the commission had time and again directed governments, past and present, to spot police personnel with criminal attitudes and background and take disciplinary action against them.
Common people were afraid to go to a police station without being accompanied by a local politician or a panchayat member, Mr. Mohanadas said.
“If a law-abiding citizen approaches a police station with a complaint, if he is not an influential person or if the police personnel do not like his behaviour, he becomes an accused. We often expect the police to be Janamaithri or people-friendly, they often turn out to be Janashatru or people’s enemy. In many instances, there is illegal torture of the accused after non-bailable charges are slapped on them and they are remanded in custody,” he claimed.
Mr. Mohanadas alleged that the police were found to flout rules, procedures, and judicial directions while arresting people accused of crimes. Even if the charge was not proved, the police were resorting to third-degree torture as if the accused had already been found guilty.
Higher authorities might be involved in this because of the pressure from the ruling political party.
DGP’s report
“We had a report from the Director General of Prosecution two years ago saying that police personnel are involved in over 1,200 criminal cases. But it was corrected later claiming only around 30 cases involved serious offences and the rest were minor charges,” he said.
There was no action against those involved in serious offences either because there had been no conviction before the court. “Provisions of the Act should be implemented to ensure action against such people. The government, however, is yet to frame rules for the purpose. The Kerala Police Association is also creating a major hurdle,” Mr. Mohanadas said.
