The politics of police encounters: Maharashtra’s troubling legacy

Following Mumbai’s example, other states such as Karnataka, West Bengal, and Gujarat also adopted encounter strategies to curb crime.

For decades, governments have used police encounters as a political tool to showcase swift action against crime. Whenever opposition parties or media criticise ruling governments for deteriorating law and order, a spate of police encounters often follows. A similar case unfolded in Maharashtra just before the state assembly elections, which has now put the state’s ruling coalition in a tough spot. Five Maharashtra police personnel are set to face prison time for their involvement in a fake encounter.

In August last year, Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl in Badlapur, was killed in an encounter by the Navi Mumbai police. However, a magistrate inquiry later revealed that the encounter was staged. All police personnel involved in the incident were found guilty of orchestrating a fake encounter and are now facing murder charges. The assault of the minor had become a political flashpoint, and when Shinde was killed in the encounter, ruling parties attempted to capitalise on the incident for political gain. Banners featuring Home Ministry head Devendra Fadnavis holding a revolver were put up in various locations.

This is not the first time that governments have employed the unofficial policy of police encounters, a practice that often proves to be a double-edged sword.

The rise of encounters in Maharashtra

In the 1990s, Mumbai was under the shadow of the underworld. Businessmen, bar owners, mill owners, and film personalities were often shot at, while gangs led by Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, and Arun Gawli extorted money through relentless phone calls. The worsening law and order situation drew severe criticism from the opposition, the media, and even the central government.

In response, then Maharashtra Home Minister Gopinath Munde, from the BJP, gave the state police, led by Commissioner Roni Mendonca, a free hand to deal with the underworld. This marked the beginning of Mumbai’s encounter era, during which nearly 100 gangsters were killed annually. The unofficial policy significantly weakened Mumbai’s underworld. By the early 2000s, several prominent gangsters were either killed in encounters or put behind bars.

Encounters: A controversial practice

While the encounter policy had a positive impact on law and order, it raised serious questions about legality and ethics. In these cases, police officers played the roles of investigator, judge, and executioner, denying the accused their right to a judicial trial. Police often justified the killings by claiming they acted in self-defense. However, allegations of suspects being captured and executed later emerged repeatedly.

Several officers were found guilty in cases of fake encounters, with some even accused of killing innocent individuals. One prominent example is former Mumbai ACP Pradeep Sharma, who was convicted in the case of Lakhan Bhaiya, a former gangster killed in an encounter in Mumbai’s Andheri area.

The spread of encounter strategy

Following Mumbai’s example, other states such as Karnataka, West Bengal, and Gujarat also adopted encounter strategies to curb crime. Whenever ruling governments faced criticism for poor law and order, encounter operations became a go-to solution. However, in some cases, the strategy backfired, with police officers caught in judicial probes for their actions.

In recent years, Uttar Pradesh, under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has used encounters on a large scale. High-profile criminals were killed in encounters, and the government projected this as a decisive move to end the mafia rule in the state. These cases often followed a similar script: the accused allegedly tried to escape while being transported when the van overturned, snatched a police weapon, and was killed in retaliatory fire.

Accountability and aftermath

When fake encounters are exposed, senior officers and politicians usually escape unscathed, while junior police officers bear the brunt of legal consequences. Such officers have accused political leaders of abandoning them after using them to achieve political ends.

As the Maharashtra case highlights, the politics of police encounters continues to blur the lines between justice, law enforcement, and political gain, leaving serious questions about the ethics of such actions unanswered.