A newly released report has revealed stark disparities in policing in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district, where nearly three-fourths of all arrests between 2019 and 2024 involved individuals from oppressed castes or tribal communities.

The findings, published by the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project (CPAP) on May 3, come on the heels of strong criticism from the Supreme Court over the alleged custodial death of a young man from a denotified tribe (DNT) in the district.

The CPAP, which focuses on criminalisation of marginalised groups, analysed 20,705 online arrest records from 18 police stations across Guna district between January 2019 and July 2024.

The data reported by The Indian Express, points to what the report terms "overarresting," especially of persons from denotified tribes, often for minor offences. The analysis shows that individuals from caste-marginalised communities are significantly more likely to be incarcerated.

DNTs, historically labelled as “born criminal” by the British colonial administration, continue to face systemic targeting. Of the total arrests examined, 3,126 (approximately 15%) were of individuals from DNT communities.

Within that group, 1,721 arrests were of DNTs classified as Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 1,233 were of DNT Scheduled Castes (SCs), and 104 were of DNT Scheduled Tribes (STs). The report found that the arrests were disproportionately concentrated, with just one police station—Aron—accounting for 15% of all arrests over the six-year period.

Overall, 71.7% of those arrested were from SC, ST, or OBC backgrounds. Muslim individuals made up nearly 11% of the arrests, further underlining the overrepresentation of marginalised communities in the district’s criminal justice system.

The release of the report closely followed the Supreme Court’s sharp rebuke of the Madhya Pradesh police on April 29, after they failed to arrest any officer in connection with the alleged custodial torture and death of 25-year-old Deva Pardhi in July last year. Deva, a member of the Pardhi community—a DNT group—had been taken into custody in Guna.

The court called the inaction “favouritism” and accused the state police of shielding its own personnel.

During the hearing of a bail plea for Deva’s uncle and the sole eyewitness, Gangaram Pardhi, the apex court expressed concern for his safety, warning that he might be targeted if released.

“Presently being in custody is better for his own health and safety. He comes out, he is run over by a lorry and it will be an accident and you’ll lose the single witness. Instances are not uncommon,” the court remarked.

Responding to the CPAP report, Guna Superintendent of Police Ankit Soni said that communities such as the Pardhis have traditionally been associated with crimes like dacoity, but efforts are now being made to equip the younger generation with soft skills as part of a broader development strategy. He also noted that the proximity to Rajasthan—less than 30 km from Guna—may skew the data, as some criminal cases involve individuals crossing state borders.

“Some of these might be registered in Rajasthan, some here in Guna, so the overarresting data as a proportion of the population may not be accurate,” Soni told the newspaper.

The report also found significant intra-district variation in arrests, with the four police stations of Aron, Guna, Guna Kotwali and Raghogarh accounting for 60% of arrests among SC communities.

“Persons from Banjara communities are the biggest target of police action, contributing to 28.6% of the arrests amongst DNT communities, while Lodha communities constituted 16.4%,” the report stated.

Regarding the nature of the offences, CPAP noted that 51% of the arrests were for bailable offences. Of the 8,400 arrests under non-bailable charges, a fifth involved offences related to excise laws, theft, aggravated theft, or robbery. The report highlighted two specific provisions frequently invoked against DNT individuals: Section 34(2) of the MP Excise Act, 1915, which resulted in 615 arrests, and Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code (theft), which accounted for 548 arrests. Both offences are punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment but are still classified as non-bailable, disproportionately affecting communities historically associated with traditional liquor and petty theft.

The CPAP report concludes that the excessive arrests and the disproportionate representation of oppressed communities underscore a deeply inequitable policing structure in Guna. It calls for urgent accountability and structural reforms to address systemic bias within the law enforcement apparatus.