Indore: Indore police suspended two policemen after a video went viral on social media showing them beating up a rickshaw-puller in Indore’s Pardeshipura police station area.
The viral clip shows two policemen roughing up a man having him pinned down to the road.
“In view of COVID spike, we have been urging people to wear a mask and even levy a fine on the spot if found flouting the norms. Pardeshipura police were doing their job under ‘Roko Toko’ programme and saw this rickshaw-puller was not wearing a mask,” Indore Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Bagri, said.
The SP further said that the person was found to be criminally-minded and had a history of extortion and knife-wielding.
“When the police asked him to come to the police station, he started a brawl there and started scuffling with the police. The person, who made the video, cut the first half off the video and circulated with the intention of maligning the reputation of the police,” Bagri added.
The SP said whatever the two policemen did was still unjustifiable and the two policemen, Mahesh Prajapati and Gopal Jaat, have been suspended and attached to the SP office.
On the other hand, the rickshaw-puller told ANI that he was going to Indore’s Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) hospital to deliver food for his father who was admitted there.
“I was going to the hospital to deliver food for my father who is admitted there. My mask was hanging a little loose below my nose when the two policemen told me to come to the police station. I requested them to let me go for the time being and said I would come over there on my own,” Krishna Kunjir, the rickshaw-puller said.
“But, they started beating me up. They even tightened the chain that I was wearing around my neck. I kept asking them to let me go but they did not listen,” Kunjir added.
However, the police told ANI that the person was criminally minded and already has two FIRs against him in connection with extortion and knife-wielding.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nihit Upadhyay is investigating the matter.