Is shoot-to-disable the new normal?, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Uttar Pradesh Police has implemented a "shoot-to-disable" strategy, informally known as "Operation Langda", since 2017 as a crime-control measure.
• Between 2017 and 2025, over 16,000 encounter operations were recorded, with approximately 97% of accused surviving with a leg injury.
• In 2025 alone, 2,739 encounter operations were reported, marking the highest annual figure.
• This policing methodology focuses on incapacitation rather than lethality, aiming to disable suspects.
• The Allahabad High Court in January 2026 observed that these "half-encounter" practices are often driven by official rewards and promotions.

Detailed Insights:

• "Operation Langda" involves a standardized sequence: intelligence, interception, alleged attempt to flee or fire, police self-defence, gunshot to the leg, arrest, and recovery of a locally made pistol.
• This approach emerged in response to institutional constraints faced by the Uttar Pradesh Police, including low conviction rates (below 20% in some violent crimes) and lagging investigative capacity prior to 2017.
• The practice is considered more legally defensible than "fake encounters" because the accused survives, allowing police to claim self-defence and record an arrest rather than a death.
• Official endorsement and accelerated promotions for officers involved have transformed this exceptional tactic into an accepted metric of policing performance.
• The Supreme Court's People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. State of Maharashtra (2014) judgment laid down sixteen principles for police encounters, mandating independent inquiries, but these have not been systematically applied in Uttar Pradesh.
• The consistency in police reports, often citing "retaliation" or "self-defence" across various offences, suggests a standardized narrative rather than case-specific accounts.
• Media coverage often reproduces the police version without critical scrutiny, contributing to the normalization of these incidents as routine law-and-order events.
• Reform is challenging because "Operation Langda" operates as a self-sustaining system, reinforced by political endorsement, professional incentives, media transmission, and weaknesses in the criminal justice process.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Operation Langda: An informal term for the Uttar Pradesh Police's "shoot-to-disable" strategy, primarily targeting the legs of accused individuals during encounters.
• Crime Control Model: A criminal justice philosophy, advocated by Herbert Packer, prioritizing the efficient suppression of criminal activity and public order, often at the expense of individual rights.
• Due Process: A legal principle ensuring fair treatment through the normal judicial system, guaranteeing individuals' rights and legal protections.
• Rule of Law: The principle that all individuals and institutions, including the state, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated.