Biased reporting, dangerous innuendo: IPS slams NYT article on Delhi riots

The Indian Police Service (IPS) Association on Thursday strongly condemned an article published by New York Times (NYT) on the conduct of police in Delhi riots, terming it "a combination of biased reporting, dangerous innuendo and outright lies".

In a series of tweets, the IPS Association said, "We strongly condemn the article in New York Times on the conduct of Police in Delhi riots, which is a combination of biased reporting, dangerous innuendo and outright lies. The article is clearly a concerted effort to denigrate and defame Indian Institutions."

"Indian Police forces are professional bodies that do their duty without fear or favour. Our personnel are neither Hindus nor Muslims. They are Indians, serve Indians and during critical times they have also sacrificed their lives for Indians, the IPS body said in a subsequent tweet.

The IPS' statement came after the NYT carried a story title 'How Delhi's Police Turned Against Muslims' on its website.

"India's policing culture has long been brutal, biased, anti-minority and almost colonial in character, a holdover from the days of British rule when the police had no illusions of serving the public but we're used to suppressing a restive population," the newspaper reported.

At least 53 people including Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma and a Police Head Constable Rattan Lal died while around 200 people sustained serious injuries in the violence that raged North-East Delhi last month.