A man had a peaceful dinner with his wife and his eight-year-old son, and immediately they had him dragged and arrested by policemen. According to the father, in the first line of sight of officers, he was unable to talk to a cop about it, and he began to cry and had to shake his head. A violent move to arrest this man in Lucknow is no doubt shocking and it has raised serious questions about the conduct of the police in Uttar Pradesh. The video has gone viral, resulting in anger and discussion of professionalism and sensitivity in law enforcement as well as sensitive policing.
According to residents, the family was dining comfortably when police officers rushed them and took the man away so fast from his seat despite the police trying to ask him to be put down. They seized and dragged him away, and the kid, shaking with his mom’s help, screamed as well. Public outrage has begun to grow over the emotional pain it inflicted upon the child.
The incident has attracted critical attention from social media and civic circles. It is the same that for small people it must make such police force appear in a moment against a child; the public also questions why such force has to be considered. People would argue that they are expecting officers to look after children, with sensitivity being an expectation when they come into contact.
This brings to light a larger issue of police behavior and accountability in Uttar Pradesh. A police department can arrest someone, but the manner in which they do so matters a lot. To drag a man in front of his family without considering the psychological impact on the child is very bad from a very good point of view. In my opinion, they erode public trust and their credibility.
Civil society groups and ordinary citizens are demanding a full investigation into the incident. They say officers must be taught to handle arrests with dignity and compassion especially if family and children are involved. In other words: excessive force, empathy, and professionalism are not okay; the police did not matter, and people have found them to be so wrong to do anything but they say.
And so Lucknow’s arrest has become symbolic of a need to reform policing practices as well. It’s about respect, restraint, and sensitivity on the part of the police that should never be lacking in law enforcement for anyone. But there is an undeniable reality at this point in time: the population expects the police to be here to protect families, not to traumatize those whom we care about every single time.
