Police used force during lockdown but were helpful too: Survey

More than half of the respondents of a survey on Covid-19 lockdown reported witnessing police using force to enforce the restrictions even as a large number also acknowledged that police were largely helpful during the period.

The use of force (very often or sometimes) by the police was reported the most by people in Karnataka (88%) followed by Bihar (83%) while Kerala was at the bottom with just 33% of people reporting such incidents. The national average in the survey was 58%.

The lockdown period amplified the "stark class divide and other social cleavages" of the Indian society as the poor suffered the worst and the study also showed that the poor, Dalits and Muslims faced more trouble from police than any other sections of the society.

The 'Status of Policing in India 2020-21: Policing in the Covid-19 Pandemic' report, however, claimed that 56% witnessed the police providing help to the civilians during the lockdown. Overall, 86% rated the behaviour of the police during the lockdown positively.

It also said more than half of those surveyed for the study were fearful of the police imposing fines, beating them, taking them for Covid-19 testing or detaining and arresting them.

The study conducted by Common Cause in association with CSDS, Lokniti, Tata Trusts and Lal Family Foundation said an index of 'fear of police' was created using the responses of people and it found that 55% were fearful of the police imposing fines, beating them, taking them for Covid-19 testing or detaining and arresting them.

The findings were based on a survey of 3,607 people, including 1,200 police personnel, in 19 cities in ten states, including Karnataka and Delhi. In Karnataka, the survey was conducted in Bengaluru and Bellary.

"The poor people and those belonging to lower class were more fearful of the police during the lockdown, in particular, fearful of physical violence by the police. They were also more likely to see the police's instructions during this period as threatening. The police personnel, on the other hand, were also more likely to report the poor localities as being least compliant with the lockdown rules," the study said.

"Nearly one out of two police personnel (49%) reported having frequently used force against migrant workers travelling back home. Further, one in three police personnel (33%) frequently encountered situations where the migrants were trying to enter shelters but police used force to prevent them from doing so," it said.

The survey also said people in most states felt that the police presence in their locality increased during the lockdown -- nine out of ten respondents from Karnataka felt so, followed by Andhra Pradesh (90%) and Maharashtra (87%).

Police in Andhra Pradesh (61%), followed by Karnataka (49%), reported the greatest number of incidents when they or their team had to detain or arrest people, either often or a few times.

The study also said that the poor and the lower class were more compelled to go to work during the lockdown compared to other classes owing to financial difficulties while fearful of police action.

It showed that the economic constraints of the lockdown were "predictably the harshest on the poorest classes of the society -- those employed in daily wage or casual/informal work.

Noting that it was "thus unsurprising that the poorest were also the ones most likely to be compelled to go to work during the lockdown", the survey showed that a significant majority of the poorest respondents reported having to go to work (58%) while only 28% among the rich had such compulsions. Among the lower class, 54% were compelled to work while it was 50% among the middle-class.

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"The sudden announcement of the nation-wide lockdown not only brought out the stark class divide and other social cleavages of the Indian society but also exacerbated already existing inequalities. Containing the virus was of paramount importance but the absence of information and lack of preparation for a nationwide shut-down merely stoked panic," the study said.

The actions of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) also came up for scrutiny -- 47% felt it acted within its limits while 20% responded that they tried to needlessly police the residents while the rest did not respond. Among the respondents, those from Karnataka were most critical of the RWA role with 46% disapproving of the way RWAs conducted themselves.