Why can't governments beat citizens to enforce Covid lockdown?

Corporal punishment by Indian police in India was heavily criticized in the Western press -

• Teargas, beatings, and bleach: the most extreme Covid-19 lockdown controls around the world

Why is it considered malicious for the police to enforce Covid lockdown using corporal punishments?

What better approach do they suggest for a country of 1.4 billion [mostly] uneducated and poor people?