Administrators should not take the law into their own hands

In West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district, police shot and killed a man named Dileep Roy, accusing him of raping and murdering a girl. According to the police, the body of the 13-year-old girl was recovered on Thursday in Raiganj. When authorities attempted to apprehend him at 3:30 AM on Monday in Gauri village as he tried to escape to Bihar, he opened fire at the police. The police had to return fire during the encounter; the suspect, who fell after being shot, was immediately taken to the hospital, but authorities declared he was dead. Following the recovery of the body of the girl — who had been missing since Tuesday — near a wildlife sanctuary, police had registered a case based on her parents' complaint and were conducting an investigation. Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh justified the action, stating that whoever violates the law, the police will have to take such measures.

Also read: Mother reacts to police encounter of Bengal man accused of rape, murder

Just 13 days prior to this incident, on October 28, two encounter killings were reported from Bengal. Samaul Sheikh, accused of being involved in the murder of BJP worker Sujit Mandal, was killed in a police "encounter" in Murshidabad. Barely 12 hours before that, Prahlad Das, an accused in the rape and murder of a girl in North 24 Parganas, also died in an "encounter" with the police. On July 8, the Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas witnessed another encounter killing, again under the pretext of an incident involving the rape and murder of a minor girl, where one Prabhas Mandal was the accused. Fully justifying these encounter killings, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari issued a warning on November 3 that criminals who abuse women and children would not be spared. Justifying that the police would have to fire in self-defence, the Chief Minister also revealed that the government has granted full freedom to the police force to deal with rapists, drug traffickers, and infiltrators.

Also read: Allahabad High Court raps police, says no to police encounters

For a long time, it was from Jammu and Kashmir that reports came filled with accounts of militants being killed in clashes with security forces. Although human rights activists and neutral media revealed that many of these were unilateral encounter killings orchestrated by police and security forces after capturing and eliminating innocents, no one spoke out due to the exceptional situation in Kashmir. However, we now witness Suvendu Adhikari — the Chief Minister of the BJP, which captured power in West Bengal through massive electoral roll manipulation — embracing blatant lawlessness and the denial of justice as a permanent policy and boasting of it with pride. Peace-loving citizens will harbor no doubt that brutal atrocities and acts of violence against women and children must be suppressed ruthlessly. Yet, in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, there are transparent laws and procedures for everything. Whether it is murder, rape, assault, or harassment, the primary duty of law enforcement agencies upon receiving a complaint or information is to investigate scientifically without any delay, apprehend those suspected of being culprits, follow proper procedures, and present them before a court. This is basic knowledge which even school children are familiar with, and it is the standard procedure normally followed across the country. No one opposes — nor should anyone do— gathering maximum evidence, producing witnesses, and securing due punishment for actual criminals. The ultimate consequence in a country that fails to guarantee the rule of law is vividly demonstrated by recent events in Bangladesh and Nepal. In both countries, rulers who came to power through democratic elections took the law into their own hands and let loose police and military forces to hunt down their own citizens, triggering mass public protests on the streets that ultimately toppled those leaders — with Hasina even forced to flee the country. It would do well for authorities — whether at the state or central level — to remember that those who believe no provision of the constitution they swear by applies to them, and that they can take the law into their own hands at will, are only sawing off the very branch on which they sit.

Also read: Rape-of-minor accused dies in police encounter in Uttar Pradesh