A group of 74 Ex-Bureaucrats in UP and police officers wrote an open letter to express their concern over the violation of rule of law and a complete breakdown of the governance in Uttar Pradesh. The All India and Central Services say that they are writing to convey “deep anguish at what we see happening in UP. The letter has been rectified by 200 eminent citizens.
In a four-page letter, the Ex-Bureaucrats, Police Officers, IPS, IAS officials alleged that the UP Government is targeting the Muslims with the law against love jihad. There has been n number of arbitrary detentions and police attacks on peaceful protesters. The letter also said that the National Security Act is being misused in the name of cow slaughter against dissenters.
They say that the governance in UP has started deviating from the values of the Constitution and the Rule of Law. All branches of the Constitution including the police, executive have collapsed. The letter said, “unless checked now, the damage to the polity and institution in the state will result in decay and destruction of democracy itself”.
There have been uncounted deaths and the collapse of the health care system. The letter demanded that the covid crisis in UP should be handled properly.
Not only this, but the letter also provided facts and data under every allegation that they have put on the UP Governance. For the accusation of arbitrary detentions, the officials put forward the case of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan. The police alleged that he attempted to incite riots and caste based violence.
The allegations put on the governance of UP are as follows:
- Targeting Muslims with the law against Love Jihad: Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state passed a law outlawing Love-jihad. Love jihad is a baseless intrigue theory against Muslim men, by alleging them that they are surreptitiously converting Hindu women to Islam by marrying them and thus disturbing the demographic balance of India. This law is completely unjustified, baseless, and against Muslim men.
- Mapping reports of police brutality and violence on peaceful protesters: At least 15 districts in UP reported brutal police attacks on peaceful protesters. 18 people have died in UP when the police brutally attacked them for protesting peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
- Journalist Siddique Kappan’s prolonged incarceration: The journalist Siddique Kappan got arrested when he was on his way to report the Hathras rape case in Uttar Pradesh. A Dalit girl was brutally gang-raped. Her body was cremated overnight to halt the legal proceedings and investigation that caused national outrage. “Kappan has so far spent more than 200 days in prison. More recently, these repressive measures have taken the form of punitive actions against those highlighting lethal shortcomings in UP’s healthcare system,” the letter read. Was the justice to the girl only denied because she was a Dalit girl?
- Detention and torture of 41 minors: As many as 41 minors were detained and tortured in Uttar Pradesh. This happened during the anti-CAA protests on the 12th of December, 2019.
- Uncounted deaths in UP due to Covid and collapsing of the healthcare system: There have been many deaths due to coronavirus in UP many of them being unreported. The healthcare system of UP has collapsed. The floating dead bodies on the Ganga River are the reflection of the healthcare system.
- Citing the UP Police’s data that 124 suspected criminals were shot dead in 6,476 “encounters” since 2017, injuring 1,859 criminals. The killing of four people accused of murdering and raping of a veterinarian in Hyderabad in an encounter is an example of how the UP Police is taking law in their hands.
In the Yogi Adityanath Governance there have been unnecessary detentions of innocent journalists who are just trying to do their work efficiently. There have been number of citizens who have been tortured and even slapped by the BJP workers for belonging to a particular caste or religion. Since the Yogi Government has come to power, there have been an increase in extra-judicial killings as per the letter that is written by 74 ex-bureaucrats, police officers and IAS, PCS officials.
The bestowed responsibilities upon the police officials is to maintain law and order and ensure the safety of all the people but in reality they are accused of violence and torturing the innocent protesters.
The Yogi Government is biased towards certain communities. Was the justice to the Hathras Rape Case only denied because the girl was Dalit? Was the overnight cremation of the body of the girl by the police officers justified? No, it was not justified.
The main purpose of the open letter from the officials was to make everyone aware of the malpractices done by the Yogi Government and also suggested to keep these points in mind for the upcoming elections. If these cases are not addressed then it may result in communal polarization.
Edited by Tanish Sachdev
