The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has sought a report from the Director General of Police on a complaint seeking action against policemen who assaulted the general public while enforcing prohibitory orders during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
The complainant, R.S. Aafreen, a student of Tamil Nadu National Law University, submitted that a few police personnel were beating up those on the roads. Some of them resorted to such action without even asking people the reason for which they had come out on the street.
The complainant said in a video clip, a police officer was seen beating up a doctor. Later he is seen asking why the victim had not informed him earlier that he was a doctor. “It might be the tip of the iceberg since many such incidents might go unnoticed because there are neither many on the streets or have the courage to videograph such violations,” Aafreen contended.
There were several good practices available, which needed to be identified, recognised and replicated with more humane methods in the execution of the law for common good. “Moreover, few video clips in circulation in the social media shows that some of the police personnel are not provided with adequate protective equipment/information to safeguard themselves from the spread of COVID-19,” the complainant pointed out.
While the general public appreciated the dedication of the police they were also equally worried that the exercise of excessive or illegal or inhuman force should not degrade the dedicated service of the entire police department.
Acting on the complaint, SHRC acting chairperson D. Jayachandran has sought a report from the DGP within four weeks.
