The same police, once seen as a ‘protector’, have today, in most Indian states, turned into a ‘predator’! From Gujarat to Tamil Nadu, Delhi to Assam, cases of police brutality, corruption, and custodial deaths are emerging everywhere. These are not isolated incidents, but symptoms of a broken system, where the rulers are not constables but state-sponsored goons!

In the Kheda district of Gujarat, two policemen demanded ₹3.75 lakh from a woman and her family, threatening to file a case under the Gujarat Money Lenders Act if they refused. The ACB caught them, but the real question remains—how will the common man’s trust be restored? 

The CBI caught two Delhi policemen taking a ₹10 lakh bribe. This is no first—it’s the ‘business model’ of policing in many cities!

Guwahati police inspector Bhargav Borbora brutally beat up Zomato deliveryman Gyandeep Hazarika over a minor traffic violation. He was suspended after the video went viral, but when will justice be served? 

A Congress worker died in Lucknow when police used excessive force on protesters. Witnesses say—batons, tear gas, and bullets were used!

A man died in police custody in Amritsar. The family alleged torture, but the police’s reply? “He committed suicide!” How can public trust survive?

During the farmers’ protest, Haryana police used water cannons and batons to injure peaceful protesters. Is this the defence of democracy?

In Madhya Pradesh, a young man was locked in a police station without cause and beaten so badly his bones broke. The family pleaded for justice—but where was it?

In the Jayaraj–Fenix custodial murder (2020) in Tamil Nadu, accused of breaking lockdown rules, a father and son were tortured to death by police. The outrage shook the nation—but what really changed?

On the Supreme Court orders, the CBI filed a case against six policemen in Jammu & Kashmir, who tortured a fellow constable to death in jail. If they show no mercy to their own, what hope does the public have?

Delhi police detained a Bengali woman from Malda and her minor son, brutally beat them, and extorted ₹25,000. Is this our ‘security system’?

According to NHRC, since 2019, there have been over 194 custodial deaths, but no punishments. Negligible! Encounters are now the latest fashion. In 95 per cent of cases, police are acquitted—because the investigation is conducted by the police themselves!

Reason!? The police still operate under the Police Act of 1861, created by the British to keep Indians subjugated! The Supreme Court’s Prakash Singh judgment (2006) ordered reforms, but no state has fully implemented them.

Also, Police postings are dictated by political leaders. Whoever holds the stick owns the buffalo!

There’s talk of making police ‘SMART’, i.e. Sensitive, Modern, Accountable, but reality? Training is all about wielding batons and firing bullets!

Then, what are the solutions? A roadmap for police reforms, scrap the 1861 Act and introduce a new law, set up independent police complaints commissions, install 24×7 CCTV in all stations and lockups, ensure transparency in postings, end political interference, Human rights training for all police and Fast-track courts for custodial deaths may be the final solution for these problems.

“Are we living in a democracy, or in a state ruled by the terror of uniforms?”

If no voice is raised, the next name on the list could be any ordinary person… perhaps yours.