The death of a father and son in India after being held in police custody for allegedly flouting coronavirus lockdown measures is sparking outrage and protests.
In this Feb. 17, 2007 file photo, protestors burn a police vehicle in reaction to the alleged custodial death of Tarsem Lal, at Sohanjana village, south of Jammu, India. NEW DELHI -- For two and a half minutes the popular Indian radio DJ described in graphic detail what she said was the torture and killing of a father and son in police custody.
The response to the deaths of the father and son, if not unprecedented, was far from the norm in India, where police "routinely use torture and flout arrest procedures with little or no accountability," said Jayshree Bajoria, the author of "Bound by Brotherhood," a 2016 report on custodial deaths in India.
In internal reports police typically attribute such deaths to other causes such as suicide, preexisting illnesses or natural causes. However, in many cases documented by rights groups and government-appointed investigators, the deaths were determined to be the result of torture. In India, suspected criminals are often killed in what police and military officials call "encounters," such as one last month when a suspect wanted in connection with the deaths of eight police officers was fatally shot after police said he snatched a gun while trying to flee. Activists were quick to cast doubt on that account.
"It is this declining faith in the system that has led many in India to demand and support instant justice," said sociologist Kalpana Kannabiran. "These cases expose long-term structural frailties and weakness that are allowed to remain within the system and repeatedly end in tragedies," she said.
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