Police encounters and public sympathy

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: Police "encounters" are commonplace in Andhra Pradesh but two such encounters, including the one near Warangal on December 13, 2008, stand out for the widespread public sympathy they have evoked. Barring a few political leaders and some self-styled human rights activists, the general public have widely "welcomed" the killing of three youths by police in an alleged encounter near Warangal. The youths were involved in the most heinous acid attack on their fellow engineering girl students three days ago, leaving one of them battling for life while virtually blinding the other. Students burst crackers in Warangal while in Bhongir in Nalgonda district they formed a human chain hailing the police action. Students, particularly girls, spoke out in the open saying the encounter killing of three youths involved in the acid attack would act as a major deterrent against such attacks in future. "Right from MCA student Sri Laxmi's murder by her classmate Manohar in 2004 to the latest acid attack in Warangal, there have been at least eight major incidents of deadly attack on women. With no strong visible action against the guilty, such incidents continue to recur. At least now, this encounter will send a strong message to such rogue elements," was the general feeling expressed by the students. Following the sharp reaction from the students, political leaders were caught on the back foot and had to mince their words in condemning the police encounter. It was the second major encounter in Warangal in the last 12 months in which a total of six youths – three of them hardcore criminals – were gunned down. In both the instances, police received a pat on their back for "delivering justice" and handing over the "deserved punishment" for the criminals. In the first case, three youths with a criminal background, abducted a nine-year-old girl Manisha and murdered her to settle scores with her father. After a long hunt, police arrested them but were immediately killed in an "encounter" when they attacked police personnel while collecting the evidence. Though, as usual, the so-called human rights activists sought to raise a hue and cry over the incident, the common people welcomed it and lauded the police action. Two Telugu satellite news channels conducted an instant opinion poll on the encounter and got 97 per cent and 94 per cent positive response respectively in favour of the police."The killing of an innocent nine-year-old girl for no reason has spurred an emotional reaction from the people who felt relieved when her murderers met with the same fate," a top police official involved with the encounter recalled. Incidents like the acid attack on girl students immediately evoke strong reactions from all quarters and everyone demands "stringent action" against the guilty. However, in many such grave cases, the prosecution has been failing to take the cases to the "logical, deserving and justified end" often enabling the accused to virtually go scot free.