NEW DELHI , India ( CNN ) -- Police in India summarily execute prisoners , torture and threaten suspects and arrest people without reason , a leading rights group said Tuesday . Human Rights Watch says individial officers are not to blame for abuses . India 's police have largely failed to evolve from the repressive forces they were designed to be under Britain 's colonial regime , according to a new report by the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch . `` While 60 years later , much of India is in the process of rapid modernization , the police continue to use their old methods , '' the group said . Officials at the Federal Home Ministry -- which is responsible for the police -- offered no immediate comment . The report cited abuse and threats as a primary tactic for investigating crime and enforcing the law in India . It said the system rather than individual officers or commanders was partly to blame . `` The institutional culture of police practically discourages officers from acting otherwise , failing to give them the resources , training , ethical environment and encouragement to develop professional police tactics , '' it said . The Federal Home Ministry will study the report before responding , said R.K. Sharma , its deputy secretary dealing with human rights issues , but some former police officers agreed that the force had yet to modernize . Nikhil Kumar , former police commissioner of New Delhi and head of an association of retired officers from the Indian capital , charged that almost all Indian states had been reluctant to carry out police reforms . State chief ministers , he said , had rejected any moves aimed at granting greater autonomy to the police for fear it would loosen their control over the force . `` The police inherited a colonial legacy . In the last 60 years or so , they should have come out of it , but this has n't happened . What has happened is that British masters have been replaced by Indian masters , '' Kumar remarked . The legal basis for much of India 's state and federal police services is a law dating back to 1861 , which was drafted in the wake of an 1857 uprising against British rule . India gained its independence from Britain in 1947 . Kumar said a national police commission had recommended scrapping the 1861 law some 30 years ago , but said it had not been acted upon except for what he called `` small changes . '' Top serving officers from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka , states HRW used for its field research , refused comment on the report . `` I have to study it first , '' Karnataka police chief Ajay Kumar Singh said . Brij Lal , additional director general of police in Uttar Pradesh , gave the same response . Successive governments for decades have failed to deliver on promises to hold the police accountable for abuses and to build professional , rights-respecting police forces , HRW said . `` Colonial-era police laws enable state and local politicians to interfere routinely in police operations , sometimes directing police officers to drop investigations against people with political connections , including known criminals , and to harass or file false charges against political opponents , '' it added . Moreover , abysmal conditions for police officers also contribute to violations , the report noted . Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions and are required to be on-call 24 hours a day , every day , it said . `` They often lack necessary equipment , including vehicles , mobile phones , investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes , '' the HRW said . The 118-page report , `` Broken System : Dysfunction , Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police , '' is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks , 60 people who said they were victims of police abuse , and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists . `` It 's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system , '' said Brad Adams , HRW 's Asia director , in a statement .
Human Rights Watch accuses Indian police of abuses . Group blames colonial-era police system rather than individuals . No immediate comment from Indian authorities .