Hyderabad: A sub-inspector of police on Monday allegedly hit a man in Mahabubnagar for not wearing his helmet, while conducting a drive to ensure traffic regulations were being followed.
The man who was reportedly out for vegetable shopping, with his daughter, was stopped and slapped by the SI for violating traffic rules by not wearing his helmet.
In the video that surfaced on Twitter, the man can be seen protesting and questioning the SI, “You can fine me, but who gives a right to slap me in front of my child?”
“He can tell me I did something wrong but he cannot slap me,” added the agitated man.
As people gathered around in support of the father-daughter duo, the police can be seen threatening the crowd in an attempt to disperse them.
When another man from the crowd stepped up in support of the duo and in an attempt to dissolve the matter, the policeman drove him away.
Amidst the man’s protests and heated conversations with the police, his terrified daughter can be seen breaking down. The man consoles her saying “Don’t be afraid, we haven’t done anything wrong,”.
COVID-19 and police vigilance
As per the Telangana health authorities, COVID-19 cases are likely to increase in Telangana from January 15 onwards which raises concerns about the start of the third wave of the pandemic.
Telangana director of public health and family welfare (DPH) Srinivasa Rao in a press conference on Sunday stated that the state has tripled its oxygen generating capacity and maintained 27 oxygen containers on reserve in anticipation of an increase in COVID-19 infections caused by the new variant, omicron.
In wake of the same, the Telangana Lokayukta issued an order on December 1 stating that the general public is not adhering to COVID-19 protocols. People are not wearing masks and smoking in public places, it stated in its order.
The Telangana Lokayukta especially asked the police to consider sparing one head constable and one constable for going around different jurisdictions, especially in the evening from 6 pm to 10 pm, for monitoring wearing of masks and maintaining social distance in public places.