Gujarat No 1 here too? Cops justify torture: 'Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis naturally prone to crimes'

By Rajiv Shah

A new report, "Status of Policing in India Report 2025: Police Torture and (Un)Accountability", states that Gujarat tops the list of 16 states and one Union Territory, with 63% of its police personnel "strongly endorsing" torture. Furthermore, 49% of Gujarat’s police personnel were found to have what the report calls a "high propensity" for torture, considering it "necessary and acceptable" for obtaining information across various crime categories—second only to Jharkhand (50%). In sharp contrast, Kerala has the lowest percentage of police personnel "justifying" torture (3%) and the lowest "high propensity" for violence (1%).

Based on a sample survey of 8,276 police personnel across 82 locations in 16 states and one Union Territory—Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Delhi—the 220-page study was conducted by Lokniti – Programme for Comparative Democracy, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), between November 2023 and January 2024. The respondents included constables, upper subordinates, and IPS officers.

The report further highlights that Gujarat ranks highest among states where police exhibit a high tolerance for public vigilantism and mob violence, with 57% of respondents from Gujarat saying mob violence is justified to a great extent—compared to zero respondents from Kerala. In fact, "in Kerala, 91% of police personnel felt that mob violence is not at all justified."

The report states, "Kerala stood out in particular from the rest of the states. For instance, on the question of whether killing 'dangerous criminals' for the greater good of society is justified, only 5% of Kerala’s police personnel agreed. Additionally, Kerala's police reported the highest compliance with arrest procedures, with as many as 94% stating that the listed arrest procedures are 'always' followed (compared to 41% overall)."

The report also points out that police personnel from Gujarat "exhibited the highest support for mob violence in cases of cow slaughter," with one in every two Gujarat police personnel (51%) justifying mob violence to a “great extent” in such cases. Odisha (32%), Rajasthan (31%), and Maharashtra (29%) followed. "In contrast, Kerala (91%), Uttar Pradesh (83%), and Punjab (80%) were among the states where police respondents did not justify mob violence at all in response to suspicions of cow slaughter."

The report expresses concern that "Police personnel from Gujarat ... also show strong support for other forms of aggressive policing, such as the regular use of preventive arrests of 'anti-social elements' and the formation of special squads with powers of indefinite detention." Providing data, the report states that three-fourths (75%) of Gujarat’s police personnel believed preventive arrests of anti-social elements were “very useful” for crime control in their jurisdictions. Regarding the effectiveness of forming special squads with indefinite detention powers, 61% of Gujarat’s police personnel deemed it “very useful” for crime control—second only to Rajasthan (77%), followed by Nagaland (68%) and Tamil Nadu (67%).

On the issue of police violence, the report, citing official data, states: "Only two states, Maharashtra (with 81 deaths from 2020-23, accounting for 14% of overall deaths) and Gujarat (with 74 deaths, accounting for 13%), together make up more than a quarter (27%) of total police custody deaths in India. Except for 2020, Maharashtra has consistently reported the highest numbers, followed closely by Gujarat. Other notable states include Bihar (49 deaths), West Bengal (38 deaths), Madhya Pradesh (35 deaths), and Uttar Pradesh (33 deaths)."

The report further states: "The analysis found that a total of 633 people died in police custody before being produced before a judicial magistrate. The figures were especially high in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Maharashtra, where more than three out of four cases involved individuals who died within 24 hours of arrest. Notably, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh have consistently recorded the highest numbers of police custody deaths over the years."

The report adds: "Among states with a significantly higher number of deaths in police custody, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Assam had the highest proportions of deaths occurring within the first 24 hours of arrest—nearly 90% or more. Alarmingly, in Gujarat, of the total 76 deaths in police custody over the past five years, 73 (or 96%) were of individuals who had not been remanded."

Regarding police attitudes toward various communities, the report states: "Among the surveyed states, more than two-thirds of police personnel in Rajasthan (70%), Maharashtra (68%), Madhya Pradesh (68%), West Bengal (68%), Gujarat (67%), and Jharkhand (66%) believed that the Muslim community is naturally inclined to commit crimes to either a 'great' or 'some' extent. Police personnel from Delhi (39%) were the most likely to believe that Muslims are naturally prone to crime 'to a great extent,' followed closely by Rajasthan (35%), Maharashtra (34%), and Gujarat (34%)."

Additionally, "Gujarat had the highest proportion (68%) of police personnel who believed that Dalits are 'naturally prone to committing crimes,' with 17% believing so 'to a great extent' and 51% 'to some extent.' More than half of police personnel in Maharashtra (52%) and Madhya Pradesh (51%) also held similar beliefs."

The report also states: "Police personnel from Gujarat (56%) and Odisha (51%) were the most likely to believe that Adivasis have a natural inclination toward committing crimes ('great extent' and 'some extent' combined). Similar opinions were held by approximately half of the police respondents in Madhya Pradesh (48%), Assam (46%), and Rajasthan (46%)."

As for police attitudes toward migrants, the report notes: "Two in five police respondents (39%) believed that migrants are 'naturally prone to committing crimes' ('great' or 'some' extent combined). A state-wise breakdown shows that Gujarat and Rajasthan had the highest proportion of police personnel—three in five—who perceived migrants as naturally inclined to crime."

Providing an overview of police torture and accountability in India, the report states that most victims of police torture "are accused of minor crimes and belong to poor and marginalized communities, including farmers, students, hawkers, slum dwellers, and petty shopkeepers."

The report also laments that, although India signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 1997, "to date, no domestic law has been enacted to implement it." Successive Indian governments have "avoided defining the terms 'torture' or 'custodial violence' in legal frameworks." In the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, torture "appears briefly in one table, with state-wise information mostly negligible."

The report further observes: "Virtually no information on torture is provided by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, either on its website or in its extensive list of theme-wise publications." Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has not explicitly defined torture. The report quotes India’s then-Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who, while leading the government’s delegation at India’s third Universal Periodic Review in 2017, stated: "The concept of torture is completely alien to our culture and has no place in the governance of the nation."

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