MEERUT, India (AP) — The police videos follow a predictable script: A man shot in the lower leg hobbles through darkness as officers escort him away.
asserted
officers → follow → him
Police across India’s most populous state have shot hundreds of suspects in near-identical encounters that often target Muslims accused of cow smuggling, an offense closely tied to cow protection laws rooted in Hindu religious belief, according to an Associated Press investigation.
uncertain
that → shoot → investigation
Police have publicized the shootings as part of a broad crackdown on crime and characterize them as acts of self-defense.
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Police → publicize → defense
Activists, opposition leaders and local judges, however, say the violence amounts to extrajudicial punishment and intimidation that disproportionately impacts India’s large Muslim minority, and undermines the rule of law in the world’s largest democracy.
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that → say → democracy
“This is a dangerous situation,” said Mangla Verma, a human rights lawyer based in New Delhi.
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Verma → say → Delhi
“It’s become a routine police practice …
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It → become → ?
Instead of investigating, police kill or injure a person and justice is done.”
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justice → investigate → person
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a Washington-based think tank, compiled records of nearly 650 cases of suspects accused of cow smuggling who have been shot and injured by Uttar Pradesh police since 2020.
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who → base → 2020
Its findings were shared exclusively with the AP, which independently reviewed a sample of more than 200.
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which → share → 200
The overwhelming majority of cases involved Muslims, the center found.
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center → involve → Muslims
In case after case, bullets struck the same part of the suspect’s body — the leg, most often below the knee.
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bullets → strike → knee
This reporting is based only on incidents police themselves publicized and almost certainly represents an undercount.
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police → base → undercount
Amitabh Yash, a senior Uttar Pradesh police official, told the AP that police are instructed to respond only in self-defense, and said police in his state have killed and injured far fewer suspects, per capita, than police in the United States.
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police → tell → States
Yash said there is no order to shoot suspects in the leg and added that he would investigate the consistent pattern of injuries if an appropriate complaint were lodged.
“The police must be questioned for every action they take.
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they → say → action
Every action is open to scrutiny, whether it is a death or an injury,” he said.
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he → say → scrutiny
‘Operation Lame’ is now spreading to other states
The tactic of shooting to injure, known locally as “Operation Langda” — or ”Operation Lame” — has become widespread across Uttar Pradesh.
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tactic → spread → Pradesh
It is deployed against suspects accused of cow smuggling as well as other crimes, including theft and rape.
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It → deploy → theft
Cattle smuggling is an offense that carries particular weight in India, where cows are revered by many Hindus and cow protection has been politically charged.
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protection → carry → Hindus
India has a long history of so-called encounter killings, in which police shoot and kill a suspect often under dubious circumstances.
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police → have → circumstances
Some activists argue that police have evolved their strategy, shooting to injure instead of kill in what are known locally as “half encounters,” to spark less public outcry.
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what → argue → outcry
The violence has unfolded alongside a political push for tougher policing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies in Uttar Pradesh, who have promoted a “zero tolerance” policy against criminals to instill fear and promote law and order.
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who → unfold → law
Uttar Pradesh is led by Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk-turned-politician and a senior leader of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Pradesh → lead → Party
From the time Adityanath took office as chief minister in March 2017 through Oct. 13 of this year, 316 suspects were killed in encounters and 110 of them were Muslim, according to state police data obtained by the AP.
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110 → take → AP
That’s a higher proportion than the state’s overall population, which is around one in five Muslim.
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which → ’ → population
Over the same period, 12,890 suspects were injured, while 18 police were killed and 1,953 injured in the line of duty.
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1,953 → injure → duty
Data on the religion of suspects injured by police was not available.
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Data → injure → police
The zero tolerance policy “has increased fear among criminals and strengthened the feeling of security among the general public,” Uttar Pradesh police said in a May statement.
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police → increase → statement
“This is the reason why the state’s law and order is being appreciated at the national level.”
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law → appreciate → level
Activists say the practice is now spreading to nearby BJP-run states like Haryana, Bihar, Uttarakhand and the outskirts of the nation’s capital, New Delhi.
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practice → say → capital
Experts question the consistent pattern in shootings
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Experts → question → shootings
In social media posts publicized by police, officers describe similar scenes: suspects fleeing, police coming under fire and officers shooting to disable rather than kill.
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officers → publicize → fire
But human rights advocates have long alleged that many police shootings in India occur when the suspect doesn’t pose a threat.
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suspect → allege → threat
Some question the consistent pattern of bullets delivered below the knee, arguing that it suggests the wounds were not really inflicted in self-defense.
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wounds → question → defense
“Such incidents make a mockery of the law.
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incidents → make → law
They sabotage the system,” said Sandeep Pandey, an activist and opposition political leader based in Uttar Pradesh.
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Pandey → sabotage → Pradesh
“It’s state-sponsored violence.”
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It → ’ → ?
Dr. Mohd Kaleem Khan, a professor of forensic medicine at Aligarh Muslim University’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Uttar Pradesh, said it is highly unlikely a bullet could be delivered horizontally, without touching bone, through the calf muscle of a person who was fleeing or fighting, especially at a distance.
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who → say → distance
“It’s not a shot in defense,” he said.
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he → ’ → defense
“It’s a deliberate close shot of a person.”
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It → ’ → person
Judges warn that police impunity is a threat to democracy
The violence has drawn judicial scrutiny.
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violence → warn → scrutiny
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
