With great power comes greater responsibility. The virtue of these lines can mostly be realized when you have worked towards this power. So it’s not surprising, that people to whom this power has been handed over, end up intoxicated with its addictive charm.

Police brutality is not an unknown concept anywhere in the world. Even in the most advanced nations, now and then you will find instances of excessive use of force. Of course the numbers are fairly small compared to developing or third world countries, but that doesn’t justify the incident. Couple of days back, a Polish man on died at Vancouver International Airport in Canada, after being Tasered by the Canadian Police. This has created quite a furore in local media regarding use of excessive force  use of Taser guns. Police were quick in giving their side of the story accusing the man of attacking them, which prompted cops to user Tasers. But unfortunately for them, this whole incident was recorded by a Canadian teen at the airport in his cell phone. As expected, the video showed otherwise. Sure the man was agitated after waiting for more than 10 hours at the airport lounge and was throwing laptop and table on the floor, but the Police seem to have over-reacted to this mess.

This video can be seen here
[Incentive for watching this video: "Some viewers may find this video disturbing"]

In India, police brutality is not at all unknown. In fact, the common man seems to take it as a part of usual life. I was born in Bihar and having spent a good 16 years of my life there, I have seen more than my share of Lathhi (Baton) Charge, Tear Gas and Water Canons. It had become a circle of mistrust, a vicious circle. Protesters used to justify their unruly behaviour giving instances of police brutality, while the police was more than happy to say that protester’s behaviour prompts them to take “harsh steps“. I don’t see an end to it this way. Perhaps someone will have to take the first step, and I am not betting on either side.

Take another instance - Back in 2005, factory workers of Honda plant in Gurgaon (near New Delhi) were protesting against the dismissal and suspension of 54 of their colleagues. It took a violent turn when police tried to intervene and the irate mob attacked a police car. Next, the police realizing that they were outnumbered at that moment, calmed the crowd by inviting them for talks. These unsuspecting workers were then surrounded and ruthlessly assaulted by the Haryana Police personnel, now in bigger numbers and better armed. Almost 1500 people were injured and scenes of bleeding and moaning workers ruled TV Channels that day. Many said it brought back memories of similar incidents during British Rule in India. Success of Democracy was questioned and politicians said they will conduct special riot control training for policemen. Two years later today, everything is still the same.

Police Brutality does not stop at dealing with irate mobs. The easiest target are the street children, with no knowledge of their rights or protection. The case of Bhaskar (taken from this report) is an example of how little provocation is necessary for the police to retaliate against street children. Bhaskar was selling illegal movie tickets in Bangalore on July 2, 1995. He was beaten by the crime police affiliated with the Upparpet Police Station, apparently to punish him for having previously mocked the police and having run away from them. The NGO representative who helped to secure his release from custody wrote:

“Bhaskar, aged fifteen, was badly beaten by the crime police at Upparpet Police Station for making faces at the police on a previous occasion while running away after selling cinema tickets in black [scalping tickets]. He was released the next day with a warning”

Sharad, a fifteen-year-old ragpicker was caught in the act of stealing milk cartons in January 1995. The police of the V-185, Villevakkam Police Station in Madras (now Chennai), apprehended, beat, and released him. Sharad said:

“I took some milk cartons from a house and the police caught me and took me to the police station. When I got there the police officer started beating me with a lathi all over my body. He kept on saying: “Don’t do this again.” He never used abusive words. He beat me for ten minutes, then made me sit in the station. I was caught in the morning and they let me go in the evening. When I was there, I saw about five other boys sitting in the cell. The police made them remove all of their clothes, except their underwear, and started to beat them with lathis. I don’t know why”

Uttar Pradesh (UP) is another state where police misrule is rampant. In 2001, Allahabad High Court gave this statement:

“A large number of petitions are coming up before this court with allegations against the Police that they are behaving like bandits, thieves, rapist and petty criminals…The police are supposed to protect the people and not to rape, black mail or loot them…it is high time that the police also start behaving in a civilised manner”

Quite justified. UP tops the list of Police abuses with the highest number of custodial deaths, rape, extrajudicial executions and fake encounters in the country. It has the worst Human Rights record in the country. But the problem is very deep rooted - Police have too much power, people have too less knowledge and judiciary does not have time for either one of them. This is only topped with rampant corruption and bureaucracy within the highly opaque political setup of the state.

West Bengal is following UP’s steps quite closely and has been blasted by Amnesty Internation on several occasions, one them being the Mohammad Aslam case in which he was tortured to death for petty criminal offences after his mother failed to pay Rs. 4000 (approx. $102) for his release.

Bihar doesn’t want to be left behind either. So does Karnataka.

Each and every country and state has their own story of Police brutality. I consider “Awareness” as the first step (but definitely not the only) towards a lasting solution. There is no use if you give rights to people but they don’t know about it.

Download 2007 Amnesty International Report