West Bengal and Bihar are witnessing a surge in extrajudicial killings and “half-encounters” in the Uttar Pradesh police style. Encounter killings are not new to Bengal or Bihar, but the concern is that, under the BJP government, there is an unabashed endorsement of this encounter model.

On October 26, in Gaighata, North 24 Parganas, Prahlad Das was arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl. He was shot dead by the police a few hours later, with the cops claiming that, when he was taken to the crime scene, he snatched a service revolver and fired at the police, who were forced to shoot him dead in self-defence.

This is the second such incident in the state in three months. In July, an accused in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district was shot dead by the police. This accused had also allegedly tried to snatch an officer’s gun and had fired at the cops, who were forced to fire back in self-defence.

Encounter Model Spreads To Bihar

In Bihar, on September 19, a video clip of masked men molesting a Class X student in Jamui, Bihar, went viral across the country. Bihar’s Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s claims that the law and order situation had improved under his tenure were torn to shreds. Three days later, the Bihar police paraded the alleged main accused, Nandan Yadav, limping after being shot in the leg. The police came up with the usual excuse. They had been forced to indulge in retaliatory firing after he had snatched their service revolvers and shot at them.

This hardening security posture in Bihar under Choudhary, akin to the encounter-heavy policing model being followed in Uttar Pradesh, has come in for criticism from parties like the........

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