U.P. moving towards police state, violence being normalised, say retired cops

Amid the criticism by Opposition parties that the Uttar Pradesh government is working on the doctrine of a police state through heavy-handed security forces resorting to a bulldozer-centric approach in law and order and frequent encounters, two senior retired State police officers in the rank of Director General of Police (DGP) said such use of brute action will have long-term adverse consequences for the society at large.

Police recruitment

In 2025 alone, 60,242 candidates were appointed in the State police. Appointments to 32,679 posts of police constable and equivalent positions are ongoing in 2026. The Opposition states that such a large number of appointments signal towards a pattern of police state.

Vibhuti Narain Rai, a retired Director General of Police-rank officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and a 1975-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, said: “In nine years, the State under the governance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has utilised encounters as a means of crime control. It is limiting personal freedoms, uses extra-judicial methods of crime control like encounters and bulldozer actions; these trends of heavy policing and surveillance, with strict regulatory mechanisms, are indicators of a police state and hard state. The government is making the police uncivilised.”

“Such use of brute force will have long-term adverse consequences for the society at large. It is not that the previous government [before BJP came to power] was clean. They also used police force in a brute manner to target marginalised sections, but present circumstances have hardly had any parallel in recent history. The prevalence of encounters is rendering our society increasingly barbaric, which negatively impacts the development of our democratic system,” he further said.

Circumventing due process

Sulkhan Singh, a former DGP, said what U.P. is witnessing today is beyond the concept of a police state, adding that the State is normalising violence. “Uttar Pradesh is witnessing something beyond the concept of a police state, in a police state or security state. A kind of merit-based action may be harsh or regressive. But in U.P., presently we are seeing lawlessness and anarchy, where the police takes selective bulldozer-centric action or conduct encounters.”

The 1980-batch IPS officer, who also headed the State police force, added: “Encounters and bulldozer actions fundamentally undermine the criminal justice system by circumventing due process, cultivating a culture of impunity, and diminishing trust in law enforcement or police. These actions transform police officers into judges and executioners, infringing upon essential human rights and converting democratic accountability into autocracy. The State is normalising violence, ultimately fostering an environment where society accepts such violent actions as encounters and bulldozer justice as a form of ‘instant justice’. These actions infringe upon the right to life and security.”

The Congress has alleged that U.P. has been converted into a police state by using the pretext of law and order to unleash repressive actions impacting the policies and recruitment of officials in key sectors like education and health, which are prime movers of a civilised society.