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Preventing Custodial Torture
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Suggest three effective measures to prevent custodial deaths in India. State
how the steps suggested by you would bring about a qualitative change in the situation.
The frequent occurrence-cum-reporting of custodial deaths and fake encounters is not only the negation of ‘rule of law’ but also a gross violation of human rights. In a democratic set-up like ours, it is a matter of shame and shock that law enforcers tend to become law-breakers and yet manage to go scot free. Having lived with this pernicious phenomenon for quite long, it is time that public conscience is stirred and law-makers rise to the occasion and think of some concrete and cogent measures to prevent such aberrations as cast a slur on the working of our law-enforcing agencies. If the powers-that-be mean business in this regard, there is no reason why the following steps should not bring about a qualitative change in the prevailing situation.
It is imperative that investigating work be separated from policing, thus restoring the confidence of people in police force and its working. Things have gone wrong chiefly due to the combining of investigation with policing and giving a free hand to the police to extract confessional statements from the accused.
The law governing the entire hierarchy of law-enforcing agencies needs to be changed because anything allowed to remain static for long loses its relevance and propriety. Instead of using force/torture to extract information (right or wrong) the police should adopt scientific methods. crimes are committed in all societies—both developed as well as developing. Whereas the most advanced countries resort to scientific methodology to gather information from the accused
and his accomplices, here in India we are still using age-old and time-barred tricks and tactics.
Custodial torture should be treated as a heinous crime and transparency should be brought into the working of police across the board. Law-enforcing agencies should ensure that all guidelines issued from time to time are adhered to while arresting and detaining an accused. The UN Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment should be given a serious thought by the powers-that-be.
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