The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has criticised Andhra Pradesh Home Minister V. Anitha for her reported statement defending the action of Tenali police in which three youths, accused of manhandling a constable, were thrashed in full public view.

“The incident, a video clip of which went viral on social media, is a stark display of police impunity,” HRF State general secretary Y. Rajesh and AP&TG Coordination committee member V.S. Krishna said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The reported statement of the Home Minister justifying the police action is an alarming breach of Constitutional responsibility by a person tasked with upholding the law,” they said.

Instead of fixing accountability, the Home Minister has “emboldened a culture of impunity within the police force”, the HRD said and demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government initiate an independent and time-bound inquiry into the episode.

“If her (Home Minister’s) statement is true, remove her from office. Her endorsement of such excesses not only undermines the Rule of Law but also amounts to a breach of the Constitutional oath,” they said.

“By openly siding with the erring police personnel, the Home Minister has not only abdicated her responsibility as a public servant but also undermined the legal order. Equally troubling is the silence of the Director General of Police over the brazen abuse of power by the Tenali police,” they said.

Further, the Home Minister’s alleged “casual dismissal of the caste identities of two of the Dalit victims of police brutality” by saying “a wrongdoer has no caste or religion” trivialises the systemic nature of caste-based violence, they said.

Since the formation of Andhra Pradesh, “no Home Minister has defended the police torture so openly and unapologetically,” they alleged.