BSP MP urges Shah, Law Minister to take cognizance of deaths in police custody
Sep 21, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 21 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Ritesh Pandey on Monday urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to take cognizance of the deaths in police custody.
He said that Vikas Dubey, who was killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police on July 10 after he "attempted to flee", should have been punished via legal procedure so that people's trust in rule of law isn't weakened.
"Incidents of murders in Police custody, in the form of Police encounters are before us. Such murders are a threat to a civilized society and have lowered the trust of people in Police. Real culprits aren't nabbed. Those nabbed are Dalits, oppressed, OBCs and Muslims," Pandey said in the Lower House.
"According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the cases of killings in police custody are increasing. In 2014, 40 people died and 772 in 2017. Vikas Dubey should have been punished via a legal procedure so that people's trust in rule of law isn't weakened. I urge Home Minister and Law Minister to take cognizance of this issue and make efforts to improve the system so that Police should stop playing roles of judge, jury and executioner," he said.
The gangster was the main accused in the encounter that took place in Bikru village in the Chaubeypur area of Kanpur, in which a group of assailants opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.
