A police inspector who was beating up a factory owner with his baton, until the latter was lying unconscious on the ground, was fired from his position with immediate effect after a video of the incident surfaced on the internet.
The chilling incident of police brutality was filmed undercover by an by a factory employee.
The police inspector was arrested for violations of section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and section 166 A (public servant disobeying law)
The public order of the arrest read: “This is a perfect example of gunda gardi by police and such a behaviour by the force won’t be tolerated. It is not at all desirable to retain the head constable Om Parkash in service at the public expense. His retention and continuation in service will be harmful to the interest of the state as well as the general public.”
Police brutality is a widespread problem in India. More than often, arrest procedures are bypassed and suspects are tortured to death whilst in custody. According to a report of Human Rights Watch, some 591 people died in police custody between 2010 and 2015, and this number consists only of the reported official data.
The highly popular Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, had promised to reform the state apparatus, but has so far not made any real progress in this respect. Whenever he is asked about reported cases of police brutality in India, Mr Modi refers to the Ministry of Justice.
Furthermore, instead of reforming the police force to be more in line with today’s standards, government officials seem to stall, afraid of reprisals.
The release of the video, which is by now going round India like wildfire, will hopefully speed up the process.
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