Dear all,
Every month we read or watch news reports about how the police tackle large assemblies of people who are out on the streets either protesting some action of governments or non-State entities or demanding that some action be taken on a burning issue. The spectrum of such assemblies ranges from peaceful protestors to unruly mobs indulging in violence and destruction of public and private property. Under the law the police are required to use various kinds of force for “crowd control.” Most people who participate in agitations and demonstrations do not know what steps the law enforcement agencies must take in order to protect life, public and private property and restore law and order when the agitation turns violent either spontaneously or due to conscious design. When should tear gas be used, when lathi-charge (baton charge) should be ordered and when firearms should be used and in what manner are all matters speculated upon in the absence of credible information. We have also witnessed numerous instances where the police failed to take adequate action to prevent loss of life and property during agitations. Sometimes the action taken is so disproportionate that precious lives are lost. Public knowledge of the measures that the police need to take for controlling or dispersing large assemblies of people can help establish accountability of errant officers.
In 2011 the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a committee of senior bureaucrats and police officers to identify non-lethal measures for dealing with large assemblies of people who may be demonstrating their angst on the streets. The committee submitted its report recommending specific measures for crowd control. This report was circulated to all police departments in the States in the form of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The SOPs lay down detailed guidance for handling difficult situations and preventing flare-ups. The emphasis of these SOPs is on using non-lethal means to disperse assemblies of people rather than employing lethal means to kill people in the first instance.
We obtained these SOPs from the Delhi Police by filing an information request under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). The complete text of the SOPs as provided by the Delhi Police is attached. Kudos to the Delhi Police for providing this information free of cost.
Readers may recognise, this information falls within the 16 categories of information that must be proactively disclosed under Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act because it is in the nature of instructions and norms used by the police for the discharge of their duties and functions. We request readers to urge the police departments in their own States to publish translations of these SOPs in the respective official languages so that people may become fully aware of the duties and responsibilities of the police while dealing with large assemblies of people.
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Thanks
Sincerely,
Venkatesh Nayak
Programme Coordinator
Access to Information Programme
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
B-117, First Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave
New Delhi- 110 017
Tel: +91-11-43180215/ 43180201
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Skype: venkatesh.nayak@skype.com
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