UN experts urge India to halt excessive force against protesters amid election list dispute

United Nations experts have called on India to stop using what they described as excessive force against opposition and student protesters. In a statement on Tuesday, they also urged an impartial investigation into the conduct of Indian authorities during the crackdown. The appeal comes as demonstrations continue over voter-list removals and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The experts said protesters had sustained injuries and that some reported ill-treatment during the unrest. They also raised particular concern about allegations of sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse linked to the protests and related detentions. According to the statement, law enforcement agencies have reportedly used force against unarmed students, including police lathi charges, and have prevented thousands from joining the demonstrations.

The protests this month have been led by the Cockroach Janta Party, along with other opposition parties and student organisations. They are demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar after 130 million names were removed from voter lists. The protesting groups say the removals disproportionately affected poor and homeless people, as well as ethnic minorities including Muslims, who they say are less likely to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India deny the accusations. The Election Commission says it has been removing duplicate, deceased, shifted and otherwise ineligible voters, and that anyone excluded in error can pursue appeals. The dispute has therefore become both a political and legal issue, with the opposition framing it as a question of disenfranchisement and the authorities presenting it as a routine clean-up of the rolls.

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The UN experts said they were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises, although they act independently of the organisation. They called on the authorities to immediately stop the use of excessive force, lift blanket assembly bans and avoid misuse of digital surveillance, including biometrics and internet disruptions. India has repeatedly rejected similar criticism and has described such concerns as interference in its internal affairs, including earlier this month when the UN human rights office raised concerns about mass detentions linked to the latest protests.

What remains unclear is the full scale of injuries, detentions and any alleged sexual violence, as well as whether Indian authorities will open the kind of impartial inquiry the experts are seeking. It is also not clear whether the protests will widen further or whether the government will alter its approach to crowd control and voter-list administration. The dispute is likely to remain under scrutiny because it combines allegations of police force, electoral administration and restrictions on assembly.

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