A Tamil movie Jai Bheem made a thunderstorm entry into the hearts and minds of people. Shedding light into the bureaucratic atrocities, the movie once again evoked the suppressed voices.
Lock-up death cases which was less in news post 1980-90 have once again taken the forefront. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in past ten years 1004 people have lost their lives under police custody. Recently alleged custodial death happened in our own State, Karnataka. On Monday December 6, 2021, a man named Kumar, who was taken into police custody on cheating case was announced dead the next morning. George Floyd, a black man who was suffocated to death by the Minneapolis made a world wide news in 2020.
In spite of celebrating human rights from 1789, it indeed is shameful to witness the lack of the same even in 2021. Article 21 of Indian Constitution guarantee’s the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. At the same time world wide, nations have signed to UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) post 1948. But what will be the situation if ‘the trench put on to guard a farm goes into grazing the farm!’
The lack proper study about the accused in the custody, prioritising muscle power in the investigative period, official having no connection to the accused and the case, when is entrusted investigation, will only cause more harm to the accused lists police, stating the reasons for custodial deaths.
Having the list of gallantry officers like Hemanth Karkare, K. Madhukar Shetty and many others who laid their life serving the people of the country, the inhuman acts by the guardians of the law remains as an ink blot on a white shirt.
A poetry in the name of Aztlanquil reads:
For every 100 cops there’s that one bad.
For real life has its own flaws.
This amazing statement about it is sad
As they go on upholding the laws.
But why punish the whole police force.
For the evil actions of just one man.
To do that is absurd of course
As they patrol this great land.
Punish those that defile their oath
“To protect and to serve.”
Its those policemen that I loath
To break the laws, instead to preserve.
And so, the one who breaks law in spite of being the guardian should be made liable to severe punishments apart from suspension. With this, we shall see the decline in such atrocities, and the civil society will soon accept civil servants as their true guardians.
Image by Ichigo121212
