NEW DELHI: The Punjab and Haryana High Court pulled up the Punjab Police for using the term ‘negro’ while referring to an African person in police documents and has ordered it go through all its case records and make sure offensive terms are never used by the force.
Justice Rajiv Narain Rains took strong exception to the use of the offensive term in the case papers of the state police and directed the Punjab DGP to immediately issue retraining orders.
“I am appalled to find the term ‘Negro’ used while referring to an African national in the challan papers presented under Section 173 Cr.P.C before the trial court in an NDPS case. This is a highly offensive word across the globe and no one has any business to use it, and much less the police. Hence, it is directed never to use the unprintable word in any police document or anywhere else on case papers including in investigation reports,” said Justice Raina.
“This brings shame to India and hatred for the country. The police appears to have assumed that every black is a drug peddler and should be treated as such. This is terrible thinking,” the judge said, asking the DGP to issue the necessary instructions.
“They deserve the dignity and respect in a foreign land as visitors or students temporarily living in our country, which prides itself of many peoples of all colours of the skin ranging from white to black and aboriginal. This has nothing to do with investigation or crime,” Justice Raina observed, while slating the hearing for June 18.
‘All Africans are our friends’
”All Africans are our friends and when they come to India either as visitors or students they are our valuable guests and we should be reminded that India is rich in its traditions of ‘mehman nawazi’ and ‘attithi sanskar/satkar’ and prides itself on this,” the high court said. The judge also sought to know the Punjab government’s proposed action against the cops who indulged in “character assassination” based on physical features.