Is it standard practice? The short answer is no.
(Illustration: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
A photo of a group of men stripped down to their undergarments has gone viral from the Kotwali police station in Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh, raising serious questions on police proceedings.
Even as the photo drew harsh criticism from all corners, Mukesh Kumar Shrivastava, Superintendent of Police, Sidhi district, said the eight men who were arrested were "kept without clothes to prevent them from committing suicides."
The question is – is it standard practice? The short answer is no.
Talking to The Quint, senior advocate Gopal Swarup Chaturvedi explained that stripping the men at the PS is "beyond the law". Days after the incident, the police station in-charge of the Kotwali police station and a sub-inspector have been suspended.
The incident took place on 2 April when local journalist Kanishk Tiwari, among others, had gone to the Kotwali police station to challenge the arrest of theatre artist Neeraj Kunder. The men were kept in preventive detention, and later arrested. They were then released on bail on 3 April.
The apex court of India has time and again emphasised that every 'prisoner, inmate or detainee retains their fundamental rights even after their arrest.' These rights are inclusive of their 'right to privacy and dignity.'
Advocate Tanveer Ahmed said that India is a democratic state, and the police cannot do as they please.
"They can only arrest them, keep them in lock-up until they are presented in front of a judge and nowhere among these steps the police can humiliate or try to take away the dignity of those arrested," he added.
Speaking on the conditions of protecting detainees or arrested people from inflicting self-injury, advocate Chaturvedi said that there are other means to avoid any untoward incident.
As the incident had come to light, Kotwali police station in-charge Manoj Soni had said, "They were not nude. They were kept in underwears to avoid any untoward incident like suicides as it has happened many times in the past."
"Imagine if someone is arrested in the month of December in a state like Himachal Pradesh, would the police keep them without clothes in the chilly weather fearing that they might use their own clothes to kill themselves? This is an absurd reason that they are giving and if the law takes its course and finds them guilty, they could even lose their jobs," added Chaturvedi.
Chhattisgarh's retired DGP RK Vij described the incident as a 'mass harassment'. He further alleged police violating the code of conduct of police department.
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