Indian police selectively targets Muslims: Report
Fact-finding team alleges illegal detention, custodial torture and selective prosecution of Muslims after communal tensions erupted in southern India
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A civil rights organization in India has accused police in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh of carrying out discriminatory crackdowns against Muslims, including unlawful detentions, custodial violence and selective prosecution, following communal unrest earlier this month.
A fact-finding report released on Sunday by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) said its investigation found evidence of systematic targeting of Muslims during and after violence at Almaspet Circle in Kadapa city on May 9.
The report, titled “Selective Justice: Detention, Torture, and Religious Targeting,” was based on field visits, witness testimonies, interviews with affected families, and examination of police complaints, remand documents and other official records.
According to the organization, tensions erupted after competing campaigns sought to rename a traffic circle after either the 18th-century Muslim ruler and anti-colonial hero Tipu Sultan or the Hindu deity Hanuman.
APCR said the situation escalated after Hindu right-wing groups allegedly installed unauthorized “Hanuman Circle” banners despite an earlier municipal proposal favoring the name “Tipu Sultan Circle.”
The report rejected official descriptions of the violence as a routine “clash between two communities,” arguing instead that police actions reflected patterns of religious profiling and unequal enforcement targeting Muslims.
APCR alleged that at least 25 Muslim minors were detained and beaten without safeguards mandated under India’s juvenile justice laws. It also accused police of illegally detaining 22 Muslim men for several days without warrants and subjecting them to custodial assault.
Victims and witnesses interviewed by the organization described alleged beatings, intimidation and denial of legal protections while in custody, according to the report.
The fact-finding team further found that Muslim residents faced harsher criminal charges, including serious non-bailable offenses, while non-Muslim individuals accused in connection with the unrest were booked under comparatively lighter sections of law.
The report accused police of carrying out aggressive baton charges inside Muslim-majority neighborhoods even after crowds had dispersed, raising concerns about what the organization described as punitive and collective targeting.
APCR also criticized local authorities for allegedly failing to prevent tensions despite prior knowledge of the naming dispute and accused the administration of not acting swiftly against provocative mobilization by Hindu nationalist groups.
The organization called for an independent judicial or magisterial inquiry into both the violence and the subsequent police response. It also demanded review of cases involving minors, forensic examination of CCTV footage and police records, and action against officials accused of custodial violence and discriminatory conduct.
The group further urged authorities to provide legal aid, medical support and witness protection for affected families, warning that continued impunity and unequal application of law risk deepening communal polarization and eroding public trust in state institutions.
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