By Poojil Tiwari
In September this year, the UP government released official data regarding crime statistics. If the numbers are anything to go by, the UP police have conducted 433 encounters in the six months the Adityanath government has been in power. The encounters, which are being heralded as an “achievement” by the government, were conducted in a bid to improve the law and order situation of the state. What is interesting to note, is the fact that the state has seen an unprecedented rise in crime rates in the six months that the BJP government has been in power. Case in point: there were approximately 3000 rapes between January and August in 2017 as opposed to the 2,376 cases documented in 2016 for the same period. With the exception of a marginal decrease murder, most crimes such as robberies and rioting have seen an increment in 2017. These figures go on to raise a pertinent question: in a state infamous for violence, are encounters the best way to maintain order?
A Problematic system of justice
Encounter killings have traditionally been reserved for special circumstances in the country. In such a scenario, employing them as a first use policy comes as a surprise for many. Furthermore, a number as high as 433 in such a short span of time definitely raises some questions about the credibility of the state law enforcement mechanisms. The government’s rationale behind such killings is to bring about speedy justice and tackle the rising crime rates. However, these killings that are extrajudicial in nature, surpass the law and place unprecedented power in the hands of the policemen. Writing for BBC, Justin Rowlatt described it as a culture in which some police officers assume that they can kill with impunity, safe in the knowledge that they are very unlikely to face any consequences. Furthermore, in a state that is bereft of brutality in the form of riots, lynchings and robberies, introducing violence, even in the name of justice, only leads to an unstable state. A situation where an opening fire is the first use policy of both the criminal and the lawful is bound to be a situation wherein the people lose their trust in the very police that has been enlisted to protect them.
Exalting encounters: a worrying trend
However, perhaps the most problematic issue emerging from these encounters has been the state government heralding them as a success. In a press conference marking the completion of six months of his tenure, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said, Today, the people are secure and safe. The police used to be scared that if we act against criminals, we will be acted against. We have changed that. The police are leading from the front. The UP government also instructed the district officers to announce rewards up to Rs. 1 lakh for police teams that carry out such encounters in the first place. As per official records, only 19 criminals were killed and 89 were injured in the 433 encounters that took place across the state. Furthermore, one police officer was killed and 98 others were also wounded. Exalting encounters only propagates a system where the police force is not held accountable to the legal system. Placing these statements in a scenario where crime rates have been steadily increasing in UP, these statements show a lack of acknowledgement of the real problem. It seems as though the state government is too caught up in the attention that such extrajudicial killings generate. In an interview with BBC, a young police officer (on the condition of anonymity) said, “Well, encounters only gave some brownie points to the cops, but failed to give any credible testimonial to the government. In fact, encounters led to undermining the law of the land.
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