Gundaraj of UP Police: Who will police the police?
What's the story
After the recent, unprovoked murder of 38-year-old Apple executive, Vivek Tiwari, by a police constable in Lucknow as he allegedly tried to evade a routine check, the "gundaraj" of UP Police is being questioned, once again.
Does the police have the right to kill us, at their whims and fancies? Who will police the police?
Let's look at some incidents where the new gundas of UP misused their power in recent times.
Case #2
Meerut: Medical student assaulted by police for befriending a "Muslim"
Yes, you read it right.
In a not-so-first case of moral policing, a video surfaced on social media where UP Police personnel in Meerut were seen assaulting and abusing a young Medical student for befriending a Muslim guy.
Further, if you watch the video, you'd actually hear the cop using derogatory remarks like "mulla" for her Muslim friend, and the lady constable slapping her.
Case #3
Aligarh: The "staged" encounter of Mustaqeem and Naushad
While the UP Police has been trying to justify the controversial Aligarh encounter in which two youths - Mustaqeem and Naushad - were killed on September 20, let's give you a glimpse of what actually happened and how the police, interestingly, called local media to capture the encounter live.
As per the neighbors, both of them were picked for allegedly killing two local priests.
What unfolded from thereon was horrendous.
Continued
Aligarh encounter: Here are the gory details
"The police picked Mustaqeem and Naushad on 16 September. On 17th, the police informed the families that their men escaped from police custody. And on 20th, the family members were informed about the encounter killing," said Nadeem Khan of the United Against Hate.
However, the family members, claimed that the local media houses were called to cover the encounter live, thereby raising questions on police's version.
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Here's what Naushad's mother had to say
"We are poor and illiterate. That's why, the police take our thumb impression on one paper or the other. Our ration card, Aadhaar card and other documents were taken away by the police," said Naushad's mother. She further said the police didn't even let them perform last rites.
Case #4
Noida: The 'hopeless' case of Jitendra Yadav
Here's yet another case of the atrocities of UP Police.
In February this year, 26-year-old Jitendra Yadav was shot at by police, and since then has been paralyzed waist down.
His crime, you ask? He claims, "It was all a misunderstanding as the inebriated Inspector objected to Yadav and his friends being out so late."
And, what did the state government do? They "regretted" the incident.
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The plight of Jitendra Yadav
The father of 2, has lost his livelihood after the incident. "UP government has paid me nothing in terms of compensation. I have no hope from them," Yadav said. A drunk cop misconstrued, and a citizen is paying the price - if this is not injustice, then what is?
Which one?
Police-raj or Gundaraj?
The sad part is that these incidents are not far and wide, there are many such cases of 'gunda-giri' by UP Police under Yogi Adityanath.
For instance, police presence in Hapur lynching when a man was being dragged to death, or the Unnao case where the survivor's father was so badly assaulted in custody that he died.
But, what can a common man do? Pray that he doesn't rub off the wrong side of police?
Answer?
How will you combat these gundas, Yogi ji?
These incident are a direct consequence of Yogi government's decision of granting excessive power to the police to "fight crime".
Since the time Yogi sarkar has come to power, over 67 "criminals" have been killed in over 1,400 encounters.
The "encounter policy" has given birth to a brigade of monstrously trigger-happy policemen, who are happy to shoot just anyone on mere suspicion.
The 'license to kill', not just gives them the impunity to kill and shoot but also frame up a story-line to justify their actions.