Jammu: A dramatic incident unfolded in the heart of Jammu on Tuesday as a suspected thief, linked to a busted gang, was publicly humiliated with a garland of shoes and made to sit on a moving police vehicle’s bonnet, prompting an official inquiry.
A video of the incident, purportedly showing several onlookers cheering the act, surfaced online, sparking a debate among social media users, with many questioning the legality and ethics of the police action and some even terming it “jungle raj”.
Condemning the incident, Jammu’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Joginder Singh ordered a departmental inquiry into the matter.
The accused is a resident of Kashmir and was allegedly under the influence of drugs when he was arrested following a chase and a scuffle near a hospital here.
According to Bakshi Nagar Police Station SHO Azad Manhas, whose team was involved in the incident, a man who was robbed of Rs 40,000 while buying medicines for his patient a couple of days ago, identified the accused outside a hospital in the heart of the city and confronted him.
The accused retaliated by attacking the man with a knife, causing injuries, and tried to escape, the SHO said, adding that the police personnel patrolling the area went after the accused and nabbed him.
Local youths also joined the chase, and once the accused was caught, they reportedly tied his hands with a rope and placed a garland of footwear around his neck.
He was then paraded through the streets and made to sit on the bonnet of the police vehicle for a short while, with a public address system announcing his arrest as he was taken to the police station.
Several bystanders raised slogans in support of the police team, who seemingly approved of the public shaming.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Joginder Singh said the action of the police personnel was “unprofessional, unbecoming of the members of a disciplined organisation”, and calls for a stern departmental action.
“In order to ascertain actual facts, a preliminary enquiry is hereby ordered and entrusted to SDPO (Sub-divisional police officer) City North, Jammu, who will enquire into the matter and submit his findings to this office within a week’s time positively,” the SSP said in an order.
This marks the second such incident in Jammu this month, following a similar event on June 11, where three criminals involved in a shooting were publicly beaten by police.
National Convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association, Nasir Khuehami, strongly condemned the action.
“Police are not mobs. They are the custodians of the law. The duty of an SHO is to investigate, not adjudicate to uphold justice, not to dispense punishment through public spectacle,” he said on X.
Khuehami asserted that “such crude displays of ‘instant justice’ erode public trust, delegitimise the institution, and push our democracy one step closer to the abyss of lawlessness.”
He described the incident as “medieval vigilantism rather than constitutional policing,” and “an assault on human dignity and the very principles that underpin our justice system.”
Reacting to the video, several social media users demanded that the police personnel involved be held accountable for their actions and termed the incident a “blatant violation of human rights and the right to liberty”.
Some netizens also tagged Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, DGP Nalin Prabhat and the National Human Rights Commission, demanding accountability.
One of the social media users said the incident was a “shocking violation of human rights and due process,” and emphasised that “law enforcers must not become lawbreakers.”
Another user called out the Jammu police, saying, “This is not justice, this is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. How can @JmuKmrPolice allow such lawlessness? Where is accountability?”
A user questioned the police’s justification for “such inhuman treatment,” asking, “tying a half-naked man to a bonnet, parading him like a trophy—is this justice or jungle raj? Even the worst criminal deserves dignity under law. This is not policing, it’s public humiliation.”
