Delhi Police chief BS Bassi admitted that he was in a khatarnak, scary mood on Monday. Addressing the police's annual press conference in the capital, Bassi said that he would be happy to take harsher action against alleged criminals than he is currently, legally allowed to do, if only the law actually permitted him to. Specifically, Bassi said that he'd be happy for the police to act not only as law and order but also as judge, jury and executioner.

“If the Indian Constitution allows the hanging and shooting of the accused (perpetrators of crime against women), Delhi Police with full authority will do it on the spot," the Indian Express reported him having said.

That might seem like a statement that is understandable for someone who lives in a city with a terrible record of preventing crimes against women. But it also happens to come from the man responsible for law and order and the head of a police force that has been accused of brutality on numerous occasions in just the last year.

It also comes amid a backdrop of public anger in situations like the release of the juvenile convict in the Delhi gangrape-murder case, and concerns about individuals beginning to take the law into their own hands. Bassi added a caveat to his comments, but even bringing up the idea that the police should be allowed to kill people who have not been tried or even charged is, at best, irresponsible if not downright dangerous.

The Delhi Traffic Police advertisement above offers something as preposterous. Here you have a swash-buckling police officer beating up a bunch of men after a woman has apparently called for help with the Himmat app, which gives people a direct line to the police. In this case the men are not even shown committing any crime and are simply beaten up because the police were summoned. To add to the ridiculousness of the advertisement, it even comes with a disclaimer in text at the bottom of the animation: "Disclaimer: Delhi Police does not believe in violence, fight scene is only for creative effects."