Two young men, Taslim Ansari, 32, and Gufran Alam, 30, died in police custody in Dumra, Sitamarhi district of Bihar on March 7. In 2016, government data recorded 92 deaths in police custody, of which 60 occurred before reaching the court. Even as Taslim and Gufran join the statistical enumeration of persons who did not survive police contact to appear in court, their deaths remain specific. What graspable safeguards and deterrence, then, can make the “24 hours” less lethal than what they proved for Taslim and Gufran? The case of Taslim and Gufran is not only a case of errant and fugitive policemen, but of missing lawyers who never took the stage.

Source: Indian Express April 01, 2019 18:33 UTC