SRINAGAR: Legal experts in Kashmir say efforts are needed to be made to pressurize authorities to drop various provisions in the draft police bill 2013 which they say it will “legalise” human rights violations in the state.
“Police is supposed to be subservient to the civil administration but the problem in the bill is that it directs the civil administration to be subservient to the Police. SPO’s and VDC’s is another issue. It’ll legitimize their recruitment perpetually. They (SPO’s and VDC’s) are not the part of Police and not regulated by Police manual,” political analyst and academician Dr. Shiekh Showkat said.
“And we have witnessed in past how serious offences they have committed against the civilians.”
Terming the provisions to create special security zones as ‘ultra vires’, he said “Under the draft, if passed, Police can declare on their own any area as Special Security Zone. It’ll deprive the people of various rights and it can discriminate with the people of that area from the other areas.”
Showkat also said that the new police law could be more dangerous than controversial AFSPA as the latter is only a temporary law. “But this law will be a permanent law in the State, if passed by the legislature. It will become a part and parcel of the daily life on permanent basis,” he said.
Another senior legal expert alleged that the draft is meant to legalize the human rights violations in the state in the name of security. “It is another and even more dangerous a draconian law. Now the authorities want to legalize the human rights violations on the local level,” said a senior academician in Department of Law, Kashmir University, who did not wish to be named.
He said that if people fail to pressurize the government to drop these dangerous provisions, the state of will turn into a state of Police terror where no one will be accountable for the offences committing against innocent civilians.
Meanwhile, the state government today dismissed the criticism of the bill calling it unnecessary and too early in the day.
“It is just a draft. It has to go through the cabinet and the state assembly. People don’t need to worry as it will go through stringent scrutiny”, said Minister for Rural Development and panchayati Raj Ali Muhammad Sagar.
(KNS)
Pingback: Draft Police Bill ‘Not Final’, Says Kashmir Chief - Free Press Kashmir