Samhita Nidigattu, BBA LLB (2016-2021), OP Jindal Law School
Introduction
The role of police in India is extremely controversial and tricky. The paucity of general awareness regarding the general objective of the police is problematic as it results in the absence of trust in the police department. Without public trust in the police, ‘policing with consent’ becomes difficult and threatens public safety.1 It is nearly impossible to build trust when the inexcusable responsibilities of the department are constantly ignored by them. The victims in such cases are arrested on the grounds of public disorder offences, sometimes on mere suspension and subjected to gruesome torture to extract a confession.2 One such example of such torture can be traced back to the Bhagalpur Blinding incident where the policemen punctured the eyeballs of the suspects using acid and instruments.3 Yet another incident is the CAA protests in Delhi where multiple activists were arrested and detained illegally. They were badly beaten and bullied. One such inmate was a pregnant woman who was denied bail4. Custodial violence in the name of crime control has been normalized in the society and has become acceptable routine in the police interrogation process. The uproar of public hues merely leads to the suspension of the guilty officers for a brief period of time, only to be reinstated to higher positions afterward.
