His name is VC Sajjanar. In 2019, this IPS officer was hailed as a hero by some and condemned by others.
Sajjanar led the team that shot dead 4 people who were accused of raping and murdering a Hyderabad veterinary doctor. You may remember the case as the Disha case.
He is the newly appointed Commissioner of Police for Hyderabad.
And the headlines were all mostly the same- Encounter specialist is new commissioner
Hyderabad 2019 was not the first extra-judicial killing by the force under Sajjanar.
In 2008, three men accused of attacking a student with acid were shot dead in Warangal. Sajjanar was the superintendent of police at the time. Once again, police said it was self-defence.
Sajjanar has been celebrated as a hero and called an “encounter specialist.” But that term itself is deeply problematic.
Sajjanar is far from alone.
India has a problem, a serious one, with glorifying extrajudicial killings.
They bypass the law. They fuel extrajudicial violence. They erode trust in the justice system.
In Mumbai, a group of officers dubbed the “encounter squad” left a trail of dead- all alleged criminals. Officers like Pradeep Sharma, Vijay Salaskar, and Daya Nayak became household names.
In Uttar Pradesh, IPS officer Ajay Kumar Sahni has been awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry three times; he was credited with leadership in over 50 extra judicial killings.
Our movies valorise them. Our media elevates them. Our public cheers them on.
But when such killings are celebrated, it sends a dangerous signal.
Let me explain.
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In November, 2019, a 27-year-old veterinarian was brutally raped and murdered. Her charred body was discovered the next morning on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The case sparked nationwide outrage.
Four suspects were arrested within 24 hours — Mohammed Arif, Jollu Naveen, Jollu Siva, and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu. Three of them were just 15 years old.
A week later, in the early hours of December 6, all four were taken to the crime scene for what the police called a “reconstruction.” Minutes later, they were dead.
The official story? The accused tried to snatch weapons, threw stones, and attempted to flee. The police acted in self-defense.
Sajjanar, then Cyberabad Commissioner, publicly praised the police, calling it brave action. The media hailed him. Citizens celebrated. Crowds showered officers with flowers and shouted “Police Zindabad.”
But what really happened?
The Supreme Court appointed a three-member commission headed by Justice VS Sirpurkar.
The commission found that the accused were shot deliberately, with the intent to kill.
The officers' statements were contradictory. Injuries were exaggerated. The claim that suspects had snatched pistols was improbable.
The commission concluded: “The deceased suspects could not have fired those pistols and in fact did not fire the pistols.”
In other words, this wasn’t an encounter. It was an execution. The commission also found that the police knew three accused were minors, but still shot them dead.
Less than a month later, parents of Unnao rape survivors demanded “Hyderabad-style” justice. Years after the Disha case, citizens still ask for “Sajjanar-style justice”.
In 2008, when Sajjanar was SP in Warangal, two young women were attacked with acid. Three suspects were tracked down and killed. Sajjanar claimed the suspects attacked the police with pistols, knives, and acid bottles, and the police “retaliated.” No trial. No witnesses. Just death, quickly delivered, quickly celebrated.
From the junior to the seniormost cop, no one faced consequences.
Sajjanar became the symbol of swift, uncompromising policing.
India has a long history of such “encounter specialists”
In Mumbai, during the 1990s and early 2000s, gang wars between Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, and Arun Gawli created fertile ground for extrajudicial policing.
A team of officers, known as the Encounter Squad, became popular. Pradeep Sharma, Daya Nayak, and Vijay Salaskar led hundreds of encounters. Pradeep Sharma alone claimed over 300 kills. Daya Nayak was ‘credited’ with more than 80.
In Tamil Nadu, officers like K Vijay Kumar gained fame for operations against Veerappan. While the mission was successful, it reinforced the idea that lethal force was the quickest form of justice.
In Uttar Pradesh, officers like Ajay Kumar Sahni have been honoured with the President's Medal for Gallantry. He had led over 50 judicial killings.
Across the country, the message is clear: lethal force equals efficiency, heroism, and political loyalty.
Cinema and media play a huge role in building this mythology — the cult of the ‘encounter cop’.
In Telugu and Tamil films, these cops are rarely villains. They’re heroes.
Rajinikanth in Vettaiyan guns down an accused who insists he’s innocent.
Vijay in Theri — a Deputy Commissioner — kills a rape accused without trial.
Mahesh Babu in Aagadu, Jr NTR in Temper, Gopichand in Golimaar — all play rule-breaking cops who shoot first and justify later.
These scenes are always staged the same way — slow-motion, heroic music, smoke, and swagger.
It’s a visual language designed to glorify violence — to make killing look like justice.
And this isn’t just entertainment.
Cinema has a deep influence in the Telugu and Tamil heartlands — where film and politics are practically inseparable.
So when movie stars who later enter politics play ‘encounter specialists’ on screen, it blurs into real life.
Bollywood isn’t far behind either.
From Singham and Dabangg to Satyamev Jayate, the “supercop” has become a national fantasy — a man who breaks the law for the greater good.
While movies glorify it, news media often reinforces it.
During the Disha encounter, major news channels ran celebratory coverage. Headlines called it “swift justice.”
Even when the Supreme Court’s Sirpurkar Commission later called it a deliberate execution, there was hardly any outrage
That’s the real problem: when cinema, media, and public adulation converge, the line between justice and spectacle disappears.
Courts lose meaning, and uniforms become symbols of vengeance, not accountability.
Extra-judicial killings are not a sign of strength. They are a symptom of a system that is slow, apathetic, and increasingly comfortable with shortcuts.
The law exists to protect everyone, even the accused.
If we continue to valorise these cops, we normalise murder as justice, erode trust in courts, and let the state bypass accountability.
That is a choice India cannot afford to make.
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Produced by Megha Mukundan, edited by Nikhil Sekhar ET, script by Lakshmi Priya, research by Anjana Meenakshi, camera by Ajay R