Skip to content Skip to navigation

Lock down or lock up! Brimful misery for commoners

New Delhi: The nation wide lock down is more a reign of terror and less a measure to keep a virus at bay if a section of the observation of a country's legal fraternity is to be believed.

Be it in the case of police excess or the absence of essential commodities, the 21 days Pan India lock down seems to have been crushing the spine of millions of the people living in abject penury across the nation life never before. 

The worse has yet to come. This has forced a New Delhi based lawyer to write to the Chief Justice of India for immediate intervention before the situation goes from bad to worse.

Here is the letter of Gaurav Jain,  the lawyer, who has been relentlessly confronting with a set of  "anti people" policies, for the last couple of years. 

Gaurav Jain, lawyer
Gaurav Jain, lawyer 

---------------------------

To,
The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India,

I am Gaurav Jain, an Advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi. And as an officer of the court, I consider it my duty to bring to your notice a grave Injustice happening at this very moment on such a massive scale that if left unchecked, it will grow so big and scary, that it will be extremely difficult to contain it later. It's only the 3rd day of the pan-India Lockdown and if we do not act now, more people will succumb to this evil than Corona Virus in the remaining 18 days.

The evil I am talking about is : Police Brutality.
In their over-enthusiasm to strictly enforce the "janta-curfew" and now pan-India Lock-down, police officers, of almost all states and UTs, are mercilessly beating people they find on the road without first asking - even once - the reason why they had to step out of their homes.

Many people, involved in the essential services have to bear the brunt of this callousness and heavy-handedness of the police. It so happens that most of these people are from the lower-middle class and the class below it.

Agreed that the lock-down has been declared by the PM to take on the COVID-19 Pandemic and it's important that everyone cooperates for it to succeed but that does not give Police the license to resort to such barbaric cruelty and unleash such shocking violence on people who may have very genuine and pressing reasons to be out.

By swinging its Lathi before even hearing the other person, the police may succeed in enforcing this lock-down but it will also succeed in demolishing the Rule of Law, the Principles of Natural Justice and people's fundamental right to live with dignity. I don't think you can ever let this happen.

And here's a basic question: what's the point of publicly beating, even killing, someone to 'save' him from Corona Virus? Reports are surfacing that a person from West Bengal has died after allegedly getting beaten up by the police. His crime : Stepping out of house to buy milk.

Hundreds of videos which are mushrooming on social media demonstrate the blood-curdling brutality of police being unleashed on ordinary people all over India. The intensity and scale of this violence is shocking, which cannot truly be described in words. And that's why I thought it wise to attach a small sample of videos with this mail so that you can see it yourself. (please find annexed Six Twitter video links)

What will truly shock the conscience of the court - it did shock mine - is the fearlessness and utter nonchalance with which these police officers are going about thrashing people. To do so in these times and age when there is a camera in every person's hand, one really needs to be completely convinced that there would be absolutely no consequence to one's actions.

While I certainly don't want a coward police force, I definitely want this much fear in their hearts that they know that if they commit a crime and that crime is captured on camera, they WILL have to face severe consequences; more severe than an ordinary person.

This 'virus' of violence has infected virtually all police forces across India, and the officers deployed on the ground are in 'serious condition'. There is a need to immediately sensitize them on what role they have to play as a responsible public servant, before they lose all perspective and cause irreparable loss of human-lives and state's credibility.

Therefore, I would request you to take suo-motu cognizance of this extremely critical matter. You are humbly requested to urgently issue strict orders/directions to the Home Minister of India, all Chief-Ministers and the DGPs/CPs of Police Forces of all the States/UTs to warn their officers on ground to immediately cease and desist from unnecessarily beating people in the streets and resorting to any cruelty during this lockdown period. They should also be sensitized about their role and explained the importance of kindness and empathy.

Sure, sometimes police is constrained to use force/violence but if found involved in any incident of brutality or unprovoked/disproportionate use of force, the officer will have to face steep financial as well penal consequences. I leave it to the wisdom of Your Honour to include things in the order so that a strong deterrence can be created for these errant officers who see a global emergency as an opportunity to unleash their evil side of personality.

So far, our judiciary has led India's fight against coronaVirus. And therefore I am extremely hopeful that you will, once again, come to the rescue of millions of innocent poor and middle class people who are not only up against a deadly virus but a brutally violent police force. Usually police is their first line of defense. But in this case, you are their first and probably the last hope.

Cordially,
Gaurav Jain
 

Comments

Dr Krishna K Prasad's picture

Yes, it is happening, but will such a ruling by SC really work in the present pendamic situation and too amidst the present arena of unprecedented unique sort of power game ?

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

HAFLONG: Senior ministers Porimal Suklavaidya and Keshab Mahanta are on a visit to Haflong on Friday a day after the Maibong incident where two people were killed in police firing triggering a seismic wave of protest across the state. After hoisting the tri colour, both the ministers have reached the hills district headquarters to take stock of the situation which turns from bad to worse. People in the tense district stayed away from participating in the Republic Day celebrations in protest against the Maibong firing and many organizations have enforced 48 hour bandh from Friday morning. Curfew in Maibong is still in place where the local residents kept themselves confined to their...
GUWAHATI: Amid an unprecedented security arrangement Assam celebrated the 69th Republic Day defying the rebel diktat to boycott the red letter day. Governor Jagdish Mukhi unfurled the tricolour and took salute of the march pass by army, police, para military forces and NCC boys at the Khanapara Veterinary Playground in the morning. In his address, the governor said the government has been holding talks with ten rebel outfits to restore peace and normalcy. He said an updated NRC will be a huge help to save the north eastern state from the decade old problem of illegal settlers. DHUBRI: Dhubri joined the nation to celebrate the Republic Day with much pomp and gaiety. Forest minister...
KOKRAJHAR: BTAD chief Hagrama Mohilary unfurled the tricolour and took salute of the March past of army, police and para military forces at the Kokrajhar Govt HS School Playground on Friday. In his speech, he urged the rebels to come out for talks to allow the regime of development in the state. He said only peace will pave the way for development.
TINSUKIA: Despite tight security and round-the-clock vigil, ULFA(I) rebels exploded two powerful bombs in Tinsukia district amid the Ripublic Day celebrations on Friday. Thr first explosion took place at 6 in the morning just a stone's throw away from the Jagun Police station where there is no report of any casualty. The rebels exploded the second bomb in Ledo at around 7 in the morning. There is, however, no report of any casualty in the incident. Security and civil top guns reached thr spots and intensified the counter insurgency operation two days after the rebels ambushed an army vehicle along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border where a jawan was killed. The authority stepped up...
HAFLONG: Yet another protester succumbed to injury in Maibong police firing on Thursday sending huge shock and anger across the state on Friday. Identified as Prakash Haksama, he died on his way to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital on Friday wee hours. With this, the toll in this incident of police firing in Maibong railway station has gone up to two. The policemen sprang upon a crowd of people who blocked the rails in the morning in protest against the alleged move to annex the hills district in the proposed greater Nagalim. Hours after the firing, MITHUN Dibragede died as he was rushed to the hospital.
GUWAHATI: Defying rebel diktat national tricolour is fluttering in the sky of Assam as the north eastern state joined the nation wide 69th Republic Day on Friday. Governor Jagdish Mukhi is unfurling the tricolour and took salute of the army, police and para military forces at the Khanapara Veterinary Playground in the morning. All cabinet ministers are hoisting the flag at their assigned district headquarters amid an elaborate security arrangement. ULFA-I, NDFB along with other north eastern states have enforced general strike from Thursday mid night opposing the red letter day celebrations and appealed to the people to boycott the Republic Day.
HAFLONG: Normal life remains heavilly disrupted in Dima Hasao from early in the morning on Friday following the 48 hour bandh fall in protest against the police firing in Maibong on Thursday. Roads in the hills district are wearing a deserted look and all shops and markers are remaining closed under the impact of the bandh which began from 5 in the morning. In Maibong, the epicentre an eerie silence prevails after the hills township near Haflong was put under curfew following the Thursday's incident where two persons were left critically injured in police firing. The incident took place at the Maibong Rail Station where hundreds of people blocked the Silchar-Guwahati train in protest...
KOKRAJHAR: Senior Kokrajhar based journalist Govinda Nath passed after prolonged illness on Thursday night. He was 55. Nath, who was associated with Asomiya Pratidin as correspondent was one of the most popular persons in the district who have been suffering from multiple organ failure. Many organizations and individuals have deeply condoled his death and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.
HAFLONG: Two persons are battling with dealth at Gauhati Medical College along with nine others when security forces sprang upon a crowd of people as they blocked the rail tracks on Thursday at Maibang near Haflong  alleging a silent move to leave Dima Hasao district in the name of the proposed greater Nagalim. The incident took place in Maibong where police resorted to open firing to disperse the protestors who allegedly pelted stones at them when the clash took an alarming turn. Mithun Dibragede and Sunujit Sengyung who were critically have been battling to survive at the GMCH while others have been rushed to the local hospitals.   Top ranked police and civil officials have...
HAFLONG: At least eleven people sustained injury in Haflong when security forces on Thursday sprang upon a huge crowd of people who blocked the rails alleging the move to include Dima Hasao in the proposed greater Nagalim. The incident took place in the morning at Maibong when thr entire district remained paralyzed under the impact of a total bandh opposing the alleged move to include the Dimasa dominated district in the greater Nagalim. Hundreds of people thronged Maibong and blocked the rail tracks just before the Guwahati bound train from Silchar was to depart Maibong. Security forces resorted to blank firing and then canned some of the protesters where some of the people in protest...