A man accused of robbing a patient’s attendant was publicly humiliated on Tuesday when he was paraded through the streets of Jammu wearing a garland of shoes and briefly made to sit on the bonnet of a moving police vehicle. The incident occurred outside a hospital in the city’s heart and has sparked widespread criticism.
The accused, described by police as a notorious criminal and part of a recently busted gang, was caught under the influence of drugs after a scuffle and a long chase, said Bakshi Nagar Police Station SHO Azad Manhas.
According to police, a victim who had been robbed of Rs 40,000 while buying medicines for his patient recognized the thief and confronted him. The accused allegedly attacked the man with a knife, injuring his hand, before trying to escape. Police, on routine patrol, intervened and arrested the accused after a chase.
After his capture, local youth who had joined the police in the chase made the thief wear a footwear garland and paraded him through the streets. A public address system announced his arrest as the man was briefly made to sit on the bonnet of a police vehicle while it was moving.
The public spectacle drew cheers from onlookers, and a video of the event circulated widely on social media, igniting debates about the legality and ethics of such actions by police personnel.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu Joginder Singh condemned the incident, calling it “unprofessional” and “unbecoming of the members of a disciplined organization.” He ordered a departmental inquiry to be conducted by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) City North, Jammu, with a report due within a week.
This marks the second such incident in Jammu this month. On June 11, three accused in a shooting at Gangyal Chowk were publicly beaten by police after their arrest, raising similar concerns.
Nasir Khuehami, national convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, criticized the act sharply on social media. “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.
Khuehami warned that such “instant justice” erodes public trust and delegitimizes law enforcement, pushing democracy closer to lawlessness. He called the act “medieval vigilantism” and a violation of the Supreme Court’s directives against custodial torture and public humiliation.
“The incident is not just a violation of the law but an assault on human dignity and the very principles of our justice system,” he added.
The Bakshi Nagar police confirmed that legal action under relevant provisions has been initiated against the accused, but no further comment was made on the ongoing inquiry into the police conduct.
