The police are not above the law.

News reports state that a man arrested by Halisahar police on August 7, 2026, was produced before a court and remanded to police custody. He reportedly became unwell in the police lock-up early the following day and was declared dead after being taken to a hospital. His wife alleged that he had been beaten in custody and had visible injury marks. Police sources cited by one outlet suggested a heart attack, while the police commissioner said the exact cause would be known after the post-mortem report. The state government subsequently ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspended the investigating officer. A later report states that the government also directed the state CID to investigate. These responses do not establish that torture occurred or determine the cause of death, and no inquiry or post-mortem findings were identified in the cited material.

An Orissa High Court order records a public-interest petition alleging that police attacked tribal villagers, broke into and damaged homes, used force and arrested multiple people during operations connected to protests against road construction for the Sijimali mining project. The reported sequence includes arrests on 10 March 2026 and a later police operation affecting Kantamal and Sagabari during the night of 6–7 April. The petition alleges that women, including a pregnant woman and women accompanied by infants, were detained without being told the grounds and were physically humiliated. The State told the court that police were executing non-bailable warrants and that numerous police personnel were injured after villagers attacked them. The court ordered joint spot verification and a State affidavit but did not determine whether the allegations were true.

News reports describe videos that appear to show several handcuffed men being marched through a residential area in Salabatpura by Surat police personnel on 14 July 2026. The reports state that personnel pulled some men by the hair, slapped them and struck them with lathis in public. A senior police officer acknowledged that the accused had been paraded, while the alleged assaults remain under inquiry. The men had been arrested in a rioting and attempted-murder case. The Gujarat High Court subsequently took suo motu cognisance, and the State reported that a preliminary police inquiry was underway. These institutional responses are not findings that misconduct occurred or that any individual is responsible.