Encounter actions in U.P. undermining criminal justice system, making society barbaric, says former U.P. top police officials

Amid controversy over encounters in Uttar Pradesh, after the State government released figures on such operations, retired Director General of Police rank officials from UP said on Saturday, June 6, 2026, that the entire society is being “barbarised” through this policy, adversely affecting the growth of the democratic system, adding that these acts of encounter fundamentally undermine the criminal justice system and foster a culture of lawlessness.

“Our society has unfortunately given social credence to such encounters. During the VP Singh regime, Maro Maro [hit hit] The campaign was launched in the early 1980s. But in the last nine years, under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule, the state has for the first time made encounters a tool to control crime. In Ghaziabad village, the victim’s mother demanded that the suspect’s body be shown to the family after the incident. People accept encounters as legal, moral acts when in reality they are a barbaric medieval act. Instant justice by encounter is extrajudicial execution, a black page for society. Vibhuti Narain Rai, a retired Director General of Police from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and a 1975-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, said, “Through acts of encounter, we are barbarizing the entire society and adversely affecting the growth of the democratic system.”

Former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh said the state has normalized violence through encounters, ultimately creating an environment of vigilantism where society demands extrajudicial killings and demolition of houses to satisfy primal desires for revenge and encourages ‘vigilance through police’.

“Encounters and bulldozing actions fundamentally undermine the criminal justice system by bypassing due process, promoting a culture of lawlessness, and eroding trust in law enforcement. These actions turn police into judges and executioners, violate fundamental human rights, and turn democracy into autocracy. This is contrary to the constitutional guarantee of the right to a fair trial by an independent court and the presumption of innocence. The state normalizes violence, ultimately creating an environment of imposition where society demands extrajudicial execution and execution. Former Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh (DGP) Sulkhan Singh said that destruction as satisfaction of basic desires for revenge violates the right to life and security and often targets marginalized communities. He warned state institutions and Indian society against the same evil in the constituent assembly 77 years ago, saying that constitutional morality should be defended through the rule of law. Hindu.

In a statement on May 18, UP said the Yogi government has taken continuous action against crime and criminals in the state in the last nine years under its zero tolerance policy, during which time 289 dreaded criminals were neutralized in police encounters.

The statement said, “During this period, the police carried out a total of 17,043 encounter operations and 34,253 criminals were arrested. A total of 11,834 criminals were injured in these encounters. At the same time, 18 police officers were martyred and 1,852 police officers were injured in the fight against criminals.”

On May 30, a few days after the stabbing of 17-year-old Surya Pratap Chauhan sparked outrage and protests in Ghaziabad, Asad, the main accused in the case, was shot dead in a late-night clash with police. The victim’s family and several Hindu organizations demanded the immediate arrest and punishment of those involved in the crime.