UN experts urge probe into extrajudicial killings in India
UN rapporteurs warn of systemic police violence, custodial torture disproportionately affecting Muslims, Dalits and Tribals
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — United Nations human rights experts have called on the Government of India to launch urgent, independent investigations into what they described as alarming allegations of hundreds of extrajudicial killings, torture-related deaths and thousands of injuries linked to law enforcement operations.
The appeal was issued by Alice Jill Edwards, U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Morris Tidball-Binz, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The experts said the reported violations suggest patterns of systemic abuse rather than isolated incidents.
“These allegations paint a picture of law enforcement violence that is not sporadic, but systemic,” the experts said, warning that if substantiated, the claims would amount to grave violations of the right to life, the absolute prohibition of torture and the right to non-discrimination — norms considered binding under international law.
The experts cited credible information indicating a pervasive pattern of excessive and often lethal force by police, particularly in northern and northeastern states such as Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
They referred to so-called “encounters” and “half-encounters” — terms commonly used in India to describe police shootouts in which suspects are killed — alongside widespread reports of custodial torture.
Marginalized communities, including Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis (Tribals), have been disproportionately affected, according to the experts. Rights advocates have long argued that counter-crime and counter-terror narratives in some regions have facilitated the targeting of minority communities under the guise of policing operations.
“Even the use of terms such as ‘encounters’ and ‘half-encounters’ masks a pervasive and dehumanizing practice that risks normalizing unlawful violence and eroding public trust in law enforcement,” the rapporteurs said.
They also expressed alarm over persistent reports of torture and ill-treatment in police and judicial custody, including beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, psychological humiliation and denial of medical care. Chronic overcrowding and poor detention conditions were said to exacerbate the risk of abuse.
The experts noted that India has not ratified the U.N. Convention against Torture and does not explicitly criminalize torture under domestic law. They said recent legislative reforms have reportedly expanded police powers while weakening protections, and that Supreme Court directives on safeguards — including mandatory CCTV installation in police stations and guidelines for investigating encounter deaths — are frequently ignored.
Beyond direct violence, the experts condemned reported harassment and reprisals against victims, families, lawyers, medical professionals and civil society groups seeking accountability.
“Silencing those who seek justice is incompatible with an open and democratic society,” they said.
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