UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 (APP): Two UN experts have called on India to order urgent, independent investigations into reports of hundreds of alleged extrajudicial killings, torture-related deaths and thousands of injuries linked to law enforcement operations.
The Special Rapporteurs – who are pointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council – said they had received credible information pointing to a pattern of excessive and often lethal force, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
The independent rights experts are calling for the urgent modernization of India’s police force.
“These allegations paint a picture of law enforcement violence that is not sporadic, but systemic,” the experts said in. joint statement.
“There appears to be a systemic failure of policing to meet basic human rights standards.”
They expressed concern that minorities such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis (or Indigenous Peoples) were being disproportionately affected and warned that “silencing those who seek justice is incompatible with an open and democratic society”.
The experts urged reforms to bring policing into line with international standards and said they had written to the authorities, offering technical support while continuing to monitor developments.