Have Police Encounters Been Legitimised Across India?

Extrajudicial killings and "half-encounters" are on the rise in several Indian states, particularly in West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. Critics argue that the BJP government's endorsement of the encounter model has emboldened law enforcement agencies to engage in such incidents more frequently. In Gaighata, West Bengal, Prahlad Das was arrested for a brutal crime and subsequently shot dead by police, claiming self-defense.

This isn't an isolated incident; a similar case occurred in July when an accused in an 11-year-old girl's rape and murder was also killed by police. In Bihar, a viral video showed masked men assaulting a Class X student, prompting the police to arrest and shoot the main accused, all while claiming self-defense. Madhya Pradesh has also seen a surge in these incidents, with multiple police combing operations resulting in the deaths of over 40 people.

Uttar Pradesh claims the dubious record of an average of five encounters per day since 2017, with Yogi Adityanath attributing the improved law-and-order situation to his administration's "encounter" policy. However, this approach has led to a spike in crimes, with UP police shooting at least 11,834 alleged criminals in 17,043 encounters since 2017.

The true number of permanently disabled individuals in these incidents remains undisclosed. Critics, including retired IPS officers, question the efficiency of police superintendents who fail to stage enough encounters, leading to a culture of extrajudicial killings.