oppn parties Tamil Nadu: Police Excesses Cannot Be Tolerated

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Tamil Nadu: Police Excesses Cannot Be Tolerated

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-07-01 08:38:48

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

In a deplorable incident at the Sathankulam police station near Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, P Jeyaraj, 62, a shopkeeper, and his son, Bennix, 32, detained by the police on June 19 for allegedly violating lockdown restrictions, died in judicial custody three days later, allegedly due to injuries suffered during their detention. The state government initially denied the role of police in their death but was forced to act after a huge public outcry in the state as well as on social media. Three inspectors attached to the Santhankulam police station have been suspended and an inquiry has been instituted against two head constables. The state government now wants the CBI to probe the case.

What is more disturbing is that the police in Santhankulam, allegedly the same set of officials, was involved in brutally beating up some persons leading to the death of one of them just two weeks ago. Such rogue policemen are instrumental in eroding the faith the common man has in the keepers of the law. The pandemic has become an excuse for them to harass and assault migrant workers, hawkers and shopkeepers in the guise of enforcing lockdown rules. Police excesses have been reported from all corners of the country and even the Supreme Court took cognizance of the fact. It is one thing to book citizens for violating the rules and completely another to assault them. Assault cannot be a tool available to the police.

In the instant case, the CBI must conduct a thorough investigation and book all policemen involved in the incident. Simultaneously, not only the Tamil Nadu government but the Centre and all state governments must make it known to the police top brass that excesses by their men will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The police force all over India must first act as a facilitator and guide citizens so that they do not break laws. It can act as an enforcer only when it is clear that law is being broken. Even then, assault can never be an option and custodial deaths must be a strict no-no, inviting immediate punitive action against those involved. If the police do not follow due process, who will?