Activists write to Telangana CM Revant Reddy seeking ‘comprehensive policing reforms’ in the state

Highlighting the recent violence in the Medak district and the phone-tapping incidents involving police officials, the letter called for a critical review of policing practices and unlawful surveillance practices.

It said that the current practices result in grave implications for the civil liberties of common people, especially those from diverse vulnerable and marginalised communities.

Also Read: The Telangana Police TS-COP Breach could have been worse

Raises concern about digital surveillance

It alleged that the modernisation of policing and investment in surveillance infrastructure in Telangana resulted in the police holding excessive and arbitrary powers over citizens.

“The amount of surveillance tools and services used by the Telangana police has increased exponentially,” it said.

The letter sought the publication of an updated police manual since there was no publication of the updated Telangana Police Manual after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, which records policing practices and gives citizens the option to demand accountability of the police.

Activists also alleged that the unregulated surveillance setup of the Telangana police resulted in sweeping control over ordinary citizens.

“New policing tools like facial recognition, 360 degree profiling under CCTNS allow the police to trace anyone participating in every protest and procession. All protests and processions are already recorded by the police. All of this is being done without any safeguards to the citizenry, leading people to feel scared of participating in democratic activities or gathering in public places, to exercise their fundamental right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” the letter said.

It further alleged that the police used the tools against people critical of the government policy.

“In fact, even you have been a victim of this ‘surveillance setup’ and related police harassment, during your time as an Opposition leader. In a recent case, senior police officials were booked for targeting senior politicians, members of the judiciary, social activists and media by phone tapping and accessing other internet and telephonic communications, illegally,” it said.

The letter also noted the tracking down and the subsequent custodial death of Khadeer Khan in Telangana due to the “wrongful targeting and harassment of people with ‘criminal’ profiles using these tools”.

“We demand necessary protocols be placed to stop illegal use of these large surveillance infrastructures with oversight on every request of personal data,” the activists said.

Also Read: Probe in Telangana phone tapping case reveals shocking details

Cites incidents of discrimination

They also alleged discrimination and violence against working-class transgender persons and LGBTQIA+ persons in the state

“…inhumane practices of policing are being employed, disregarding the NALSA Judgement of the Supreme Court (15 April, 2014) is also a cause of severe concern,” the letter said.

“Routine harassment of transgender persons, especially those struggling to survive on street-based livelihoods, is being resorted to, through excessive forms of policing, instead of ensuring effective policies to address the real challenges of the community,” it further said.

They also highlighted that youngsters of the old city area in Hyderabad, especially from the Muslim minority community, were routinely subject to violence of lathi under ‘Mission Chabutra’ for being out in the streets during the middle of the night.

“The old city is a dense neighbourhood, with no amenities of sports or parks for adolescents to spend their time, resulting in them being on the streets, when they are empty in the night. Such policing of youngsters instead of addressing structural problems is making policing the answer to every social problem. Provide parks and sports amenities, rather than subjecting these teenagers to extreme forms of moral policing in the name of counselling,” the letter said.

“The Cordon and Search operations across Telangana are illegal and are unconstitutional in peaceful neighbourhoods in Telangana,” it said.

The activist said that despite these excessive policing violations, there were no mechanisms to file complaints against the police.

A Letter to Telangana Chief Minister demanding comprehensive policing reforms including surveillance reforms and to make the Telangana Police Manual with list of existing current policing practices public was sent by civil society groups in Telangana through @napmindia pic.twitter.com/J0EvCUBcIB

— Srinivas Kodali (@digitaldutta) June 18, 2024

Makes a list of demands

Demanding a comprehensive police reform exercise in the state, they put forth a list of concerns that need to be addressed.

• A comprehensive human rights evaluation by a retired judge of various policing practices that are being employed in Telangana.
• Publish the Telangana Police Manual and all the details of policing practices that are currently employed by the police, including intelligence activities
• Appointment of a high-level enquiry commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge, to look into the illegal phone tapping cases and issues of illegal surveillance, surveillance infrastructure (360 degree profiling programme) and policing practices mentioned above; to issue recommendations for reforms, to make policing effective and compliant with constitutional and human rights standards, towards controlling crime and protecting the interests and rights of the public.
• Bring intelligence activities under judicial and legislative oversight, to stop abuse of policing on democratic opposition.
• Conduct an inquiry into the police officials responsible for the custodial torture of Mohammad Khadeer Khan by Medak Town Police, leading to his subsequent death. Provide all necessary aid to his widow Siddeshwari alias Farzana and dependents, whose lives have been severely affected.
• Make the Police Complaints Authority operational across all districts of Telangana.
• Install CCTV cameras in all police stations and provide access to footage under RTI to prevent custodial torture as ordered by the Supreme Court.
• Stop temporary preventive detention of people involved in peaceful protests and provide more physical and democratic space for people who are protesting.
• Take necessary steps for initiating appropriate penal action, as recommended by the report of the Commission of Inquiry, led by Justice VS Sirpurkar, dated 28 January, 2022, against police officers involved in the extra-judicial killings of four suspects Mohammed Arif, Jolly Naveen, Jolly Shiva and Chinthakunta Chennakeshavulu on 6 December, 2019.
• Stop targeted harassment of animal vendors by the police department even when all rules are being followed by them.
• Stop Cordon and Search operations which violate the dignity and privacy of the marginalised communities across Telangana.
• Stop forced seizure of motor transport vehicles during cordon and search and strictly enforce Telangana State Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 during any seizure of vehicles across Telangana as ordered by the High Court of Telangana.
• Digitise warrants and upload them publicly. No warrants are ever produced by police, during cordon and search and other policing activities in the state.
• Stop Mission Chabutra and the excessive policing of teenagers in the old city, who are being indiscriminately targeted.
• Make filing of petty cases transparent and provide legal aid to people being prosecuted in courts. Ensure the police are not resorting to corrupt practices with the threat of court filings.
• Sensitise the police force by conducting fact and law-based training on different issues, including human rights, privacy, community policing, and also about the rights of vulnerable groups such as Dalits, Adivasis, Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT) communities, sex workers, transgender, queer persons and religious minorities, and provide modes of engagement for the community.
• Stop arbitrary and excessive policing of gig and platform workers performing delivery duties at late night.
• The KYC of cab drivers and autos by the police department is being carried out without any procedures and rules with a focus on surveillance of drivers. Safety training for drivers in scenarios like customer harassment is never part of the present policing practices. It is demanded that the police department engage with the drivers union to understand their problems and work to address their problems, rather than forcing them with more surveillance.

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)

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