Life and death in a ‘bulldozer republic’

Shashikant Jatav and Amarkant Singh Chouhan never imagined that chasing the truth would land them in a police lockup — and nearly cost them their lives.

The two journalists from Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, were digging deep into a story most people had long learned to stay away from: the illegal sand mining mafia, and the police officials shielding them. But on 19 May, the very man they were investigating — Bhind’s superintendent of police Asit Yadav — called them to his office for a chat over tea. What followed was not conversation, but violence.

The two were mercilessly thrashed by cops and had to take refuge in Delhi where they were forced to move the Delhi High Court and then the Supreme Court seeking protection.

In a clear attempt at intimidation, a police team from Bhind was seen camping outside the Delhi High Court during the hearing of the case on 28 May. The Supreme Court did grant the journalists interim protection from arrest, but asked them to approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court within two weeks. The state counsel implied that the reporters were part of an extortion racket, a charge that remains unsubstantiated as who could dare extract money from cops!

The nexus between the police and the sand mining mafia runs deep and has grown bolder and more violent over the years.

The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People has drawn up a list of five journalists, 15 government officials and 35 villagers suspected of being killed by the sand mafia in 2019–20. The most high-profile of these was the shooting of journalist Shubham Mani Tripathi on 19 June 2020 in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao. He was investigating illegal land deals and his killers were allegedly linked to powerful real estate interests.

This, and a number of subsequent incidents, is a snapshot of a country where justice is being bulldozed, truth is on the run and the line between criminals and cops is growing thinner by the day.

In September 2023, Vijay Soni was gunned down by the police in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh. The ‘encounter’ was recorded on video. The bullet that hit him was real. The story was fake. A court later ruled it wasn’t a legitimate operation but a cold-blooded shooting. And yet, nearly two years later, no action has been taken against the 12 officers involved. No FIRs. No suspensions. Just silence.

Soni’s mother continues to seek justice, pointing out that three FIRs filed in connection to the shooting all place it in the same location, suggesting deliberate falsification of records. Vishal Gogne, an additional sessions judge in Delhi, flagged a disturbing trend where police shot suspects in the knees — with the victims often blindfolded beforehand. Gogne labelled these acts as ‘vigilante justice’, a stark indictment of how rule of law has been replaced by rule of force.

This pattern of State-enabled violence extends well beyond illegal mining. Across India, particularly in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Manipur, police forces have increasingly taken on the dual role of investigator and executioner, with encounter killings and ‘instant justice’ becoming the norm.

But encounters aren’t the only tools being used to deliver summary punishment. The bulldozer has emerged as a potent political symbol. Between 2022 and 2023, more than 1.5 lakh houses have been demolished, leaving over seven lakh people homeless.

In the heart of Lucknow, 70-year-old Shabana Begum stood in front of the rubble of what used to be her home — four rooms that housed three generations. On 19 June 2024, more than 1,100 homes like hers in Akbarnagar were razed overnight as part of a government drive to ‘clear’ land for an ecotourism hub.

In Siasat Nagar, Ahmedabad, 8,000 homes were demolished using 50 bulldozers with over 3,000 policemen standing guard.

The people losing their homes are mostly Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis — communities already teetering on the edge of survival. The Supreme Court has come down heavily on states for demolishing properties of suspected criminals, and ordered that officials must issue prior notice and that they cannot take arbitrary action against suspects or convicts without following the due process of law.

‘It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall if authorities hold their hands for some period,’ the court observed. And yet, the bulldozers keep rolling.

Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, authorities used explosives to demolish houses of suspected militants and their families — often ancestral homes occupied by joint families. Thus, hundreds were rendered homeless overnight.

These demolitions are done on scant evidence. In tribal-dominated Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, police demolished 11 homes in June 2024 after ‘receiving a tip-off’ about illegal beef trade — another area where mob rule often trumps legal norms. The State has repeatedly failed to crack down on cow vigilante mobs, which continue to assault and kill Muslim men under the guise of protecting cows.

On 24 May, in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, four men transporting meat in a mini-truck were lynched by a mob, and the vehicle set ablaze. The mob suspected that beef was being transported. But forensic tests confirmed four days later that the meat was not beef. The victims, now hospitalised, may survive, but their attackers are unlikely to face justice.

So far, the State has failed to convict enough vigilantes for it to be significant, even as encounter killings in UP alone have surpassed 30,000.

The ‘Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2025’ — based on a survey of over 17 states and covering 8,276 police personnel across urban and rural areas — confirms the worst fears. The report, published by Common Cause and the Lokniti Programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, found that caste, religion and political affiliation heavily influence police actions.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of officials justified mob violence in cases of sexual harassment or kidnapping; 59 per cent admitted to not following arrest protocols; 62 per cent of Delhi Police force believed Muslims are ‘naturally inclined’ towards crime; Gujarat Police showed the highest level of bias against Dalits and Adivasis.

Paramjeet Singh, secretary of the People’s Union for Democratic Rights, flagged the underreporting of custodial deaths. In 2020, the National Crime Records Bureau documented 76 custodial deaths, while the National Human Rights Commission recorded 90. But judicial inquiries were ordered in only 35 per cent of those cases.

A new first has been created with the police not hesitating to beat up and intimidate journalists. Reporters Without Borders has questioned the Indian government for not identifying or taking action against those responsible for intimidating/ attacking journalists.

India’s democracy was built on the promise of justice, liberty and dignity for all. That promise now feels dangerously frayed. So where is the accountability? Where is the outrage from the top? The silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi is conspicuous.

Critics argue that India is sliding into a mobocracy, where bulldozers and bullets have replaced courts and constitutional protection.