TheTelangana Police have gained a dubious reputation for using preventive detention to silence Opposition leaders who protest against the government.
The Telangana Police has been accused of abusing the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) to target political opponents. The PDA is a law that allows the government to detain people without trial for up to six months if it believes that they are a threat to public order or safety.
There are a number of reasons why the Telangana Police may be targeting political opponents with the PDA. One reason is to stifle dissent and prevent them from organizing protests or other forms of opposition to the government. Another reason is to intimidate and harass them, and to make them less likely to speak out against the government. The PDA can also be used to keep political opponents out of circulation during elections or other important political events.
Here are some specific examples of how the Telangana Police has been accused of abusing the PDA to target political opponents:
- In 2020, the Telangana Police detained a number of opposition leaders under the PDA ahead of a visit by the Prime Minister to the state.
- In 2021, the Telangana Police detained a number of activists and journalists under the PDA ahead of a protest against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In 2022, the Telangana Police detained a number of opposition leaders under the PDA ahead of the state assembly elections.
The use of the PDA to target political opponents is a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. It is also a violation of the right to a fair trial.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recently transferred 13 police officers and four collectors ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections. The ECI gave the officials’ unsatisfactory performance as the reason for their transfer.
Further complaints are being made to the ECI by the Congress party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) about officials close to leaders in the ruling BRS. This brings into question the neutrality of the police in Telangana and whether they will support leaders they are close to.
The Telangana Police has become a political force with the formation of Telangana, and the modernisation of policing in the state. The police force has actively helped the ruling BRS party gain extreme control over the state and the Opposition.
Opposition leaders target of the police
Preventive arrests of prominent Opposition leaders are frequent and well-known. A Revanth Reddy of the Congress was last placed under house arrest on 24 March to prevent him from joining a protest at the Osmania University over the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exam question paper leak.
BSP chief RS Praveen Kumar was picked up on 12 August for a “satyagraha diksha” on the TSPSC Group 2 examination issue. The Telangana Police has not allowed any Opposition faction to mobilise for protests in the last decade.
The Telangana Police has been more than busy detaining Opposition leaders before any major political event until the announcement of the election dates.
As recently as the last week of September and early October, there were multiple preventive detentions and house arrests of Opposition leaders because of IT Minister KT Rama Rao’s trips across the state.
In Khammam on 29 September, the Left parties and organisations announced their intention to protest during the meetings of the minister, who is also BRS working president. This led to preventive detentions of various leaders from the CPI(M), the Congress, and the TDP.
Criticising these arrests, the CPI(M) District Secretary Sunna Nageswar Rao questioned whether “we live in a democracy or an authoritarian country”. Despite all these preventive detentions, some unemployed youth still managed to stop KTR’s convoy.
As the IT minister visited Godavarikhani in Ramagundam on 1 October, the police detained various political leaders of the BJP, Congress, CPI(M), and BSP ahead of the visit. These arrests were not limited to a particular area or event; they are now a regular feature.
Preventive arrests single panacea for all ills
Preventive detentions of Opposition leaders are not limited to the visits of the IT minister. In Kagaznagar town of Sirpur constituency, ahead of the visit of Minister Indira Kiran Reddy, the police detained CPI(M) leader Munzam Anand at 5 am on 29 September.
Telangana has a history of preventive detentions that the police have long abused by making “political arrests” against the Opposition. The preventive detention law allows all forms of arrests, ranging from not paying traffic challans to committing cybercrimes.
Preventive detention is the go-to excuse for Telangana Police to arrest anyone. Telangana’s preventive detention law is so bad that Supreme Court of India judges have questioned its use at the “drop of a hat”.
While the Preventive Detention Act exists, most arrests of political leaders are made under Section 151 of the CrPC — which allows for temporary detention of 24 hours.
The arrests under Section 151 of CrPC are frequent in Telangana. The police routinely detain political leaders and party members whenever there is a call for protests in the state.
Preventive detentions, while being temporary, have been carried out on a large scale by the police, rendering the fundamental rights of citizens useless. It has also prevented political organisations from mobilising people on the ground.
This practice by the police needs serious scrutiny by the courts, who have allowed its abuse against the Opposition.
With the elections around the corner, one needs to watch how the Telangana Police behaves and whether they will target the Opposition more and let the ruling party get away with the transfer of money, liquor, and other contraband.
Opposition space for protest shrinking
Telangana Police is known for not allowing any form of protest over the last decade, and the space for protest has been shrinking in the state. This is not limited to Opposition parties; any citizen group or organisation not linked to any party, too, is not allowed to protest.
More than a problem caused by the political establishment, it is primarily an exercise to prevent protests from stopping economic activity in the state.
With the election model code of conduct now in force, the police will have to report to the Election Commission, and any partiality by the police will be seen as the police not being neutral and helping to manipulate elections.
The delays in the announcement of the election calendar have contributed to the police abusing their power to prevent the Opposition from organising itself. An impartial Election Commission can keep all these manipulations in check and hope no police official is allowed to abuse his power during the election cycle.
The Telangana government has denied that it is using the PDA to target political opponents. However, the evidence suggests that the PDA is being used to stifle dissent and intimidate political opponents. This is a worrying trend, and it is important to hold the Telangana government accountable for its actions. ■ #hydnews #khabarlive #hydkhabar