Tamil Nadu is one of the most progressive states in India in terms of human development indices, economic growth, foreign and domestic investment and preservation of law and order but the state’s record in police brutality has the potential to smear every other performance marker it has steadily built over a time period. The death of a 27-year-old temple guard in Sivaganga in police custody on Saturday, and bearing marks of severe torture to boot, must be a pointer for not just the police force or the government in the state to ponder but also a wake-up call for its over-seven crore people. The public outcry against the incident is so shrill that it reverberated in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. The court was forced to ask the government if the arrested youth, a hapless security guard accused of stealing the gold ornaments of a devotee, was a weapon-carrying terrorist attacking the cops to warrant use of such brute force in self-defence. The court has not instituted an independent inquiry into the incident. It has now been alleged that 24 custodial deaths have occurred in the last four years of the DMK rule, and some of them are examples of the cruellest way human beings can treat others of the same species. The record of police brutality and excesses during the rule of previous governments is no better. That Tamil Nadu is a more open state with transparent systems so that incidents of police brutality are reported unlike many other states is no excuse for the repetition of those episodes.Policemen responsible for the murder have been arrested while chief minister M.K Stalin has warned the police force that law-breakers, even if they are men in uniform, will be punished. Mr Stalin must now walk the talk and ensure that all the perpetrators of the heinous crime meet the full force of the law. There should be zero tolerance to police brutality in a civilised society, and Tamil Nadu is no exception.
Source link
