India: UN experts warn of systemic policing failures over reports of deaths and torture in custody
GENEVA – UN experts* today called on the Government of India to launch urgent independent investigations into alarming allegations of hundreds of extrajudicial killings and torture-related deaths and thousands of injuries by law enforcement officials, and undertake major reforms to modernise policing in line with international human rights standards.
“These allegations paint a picture of law enforcement violence that is not sporadic, but systemic,” the experts said. “If substantiated, they reveal grave violations of the right to life, the absolute prohibition of torture, and the right to non-discrimination — all of which are jus cogens norms.”
The experts received credible information indicating a pervasive pattern of excessive and often lethal use of force by police, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, including so-called “encounters” and “half-encounters”, alongside widespread custodial torture. Marginalised communities – such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis – have been disproportionately affected.