UP: Two cops booked after video of assault on youth goes viral

“My niece is not going to school and is traumatised. We had to take her to a doctor, and she has had fever and headaches since Tuesday, when the incident occurred. She is taking medicines,” said Pandey (19) alias Rinku, who runs a mobile phone shop in Sakarpur area of Siddharthnagar district.

The incident took place under Khesraha police station limits on Tuesday. In the two-minute video, S-I Virendra Mishra is seen locking Pandey’s neck with his legs while Head Constable Mahendra Parasad keeps kicking him in the back. Pandey’s niece is seen mumbling while he tells her to sit on the motorcycle and he will leave with her. To this, one of the policemen says, “How will you go?”

On Friday, Mishra and Parasad were booked under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person).

Siddharthnagar SP Dharam Veer Singh said a case was lodged against the two policemen after they were suspended on Thursday.

“We lodged the FIR on a complaint submitted by Priyanshu Pandey. A departmental inquiry is being conducted by Additional SP Maya Ram Verma,” said Singh.

Contacted by The Indian Express, Verma said the video clearly shows that the two policemen behaved in an “unacceptable manner”. “Further inquiry is ongoing,” said Verma.

Speaking about the incident, Pandey said some people were abusing him on Tuesday.

“One of them called the police and complained about me. Then the police came and assaulted me brutally,” he said.

SP Singh said the police got a call from one Riazuddin about a row between Pandey and one Akhtar.

“Because it was Moharram, the two officers rushed to the spot. Locals told us Pandey was drunk. What the officers did was absolutely wrong, hence action has been taken against them,” said the SP.

“We had first sent the two accused policemen to the police lines. After an inquiry, we had suspended them for their unacceptable behaviour,” the SP added.

A medical examination of Pandey was conducted on Friday and it was found that he suffered no serious injuries.