Three policemen have been suspended in Delhi for unprofessional conduct after they were accused of thrashing the driver of a mini taxi and his son, the police announced on Monday.
Two Assistant Sub-Inspectors and a constable were suspended over the way they handled the situation on Sunday in Mukherjee Nagar near Delhi University after a Gramin Seva taxi hit a police vehicle.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijayanta Arya said an enquiry had been initiated into the incident which caused a near riot and triggered strong political reactions.
The enquiry will be conducted by an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police along with an Assistant Commissioner of Police to ascertain the role of the policemen in the incident which was caught on camera.
The police say it was the driver and his juvenile son who first attacked the policemen with a sword. One of them had a sword when he attacked the police.
The driver’s friends alleged that the father and son were dragged out of the vehicle by cops and beaten up again in the police station.
Further legal action will be taken following the outcome of the police investigation, Arya said.
As tension gripped Mukherjee Nagar, where the incident took place, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the incident terming it “unfortunate”.
He further appealed to L-G Anil Baijal and Home Minister Amit Shah to take strict action against the accused cops.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislator from Delhi’s Rajouri Garden, Manjinder Singh Sirsa tweeted a video of the incident demanding that the officials be rusticated for the act.
The Delhi Police issued a statement that said, “The alleged incident followed an accident caused by a Gramin Sewa tempo to a police vehicle. Thereafter, a police officer was also assaulted on the head by the tempo driver with a sword. Further, the tempo was driven dangerously and caused injuries to a policeman in the leg.”
The statement said the matter is being enquired into by the additional deputy commissioner of police (northwest).
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report from the Commissioner of Police, Delhi after videos of cops publicly thrashing a Gramin Seva driver went viral on social media.