Four policemen suspended for thrashing women protesters in U P
Firozabad: All four policemen, caught on camera kicking, slapping and using canes to hit a group of women protesters at Rasulpur in western Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district, have been suspended. The women were protesting against the death of two labourers in a collision on Monday night between the minivan they were in and a truck. They blocked the national highway between Lucknow and Agra demanding the arrest of the truck driver.
The policemen then launched the brutal attack on the women to clear the road.
As outrage over the incident mounted, Station House Officer Prakash Yadav, the key figure in the brutality, was put under suspension along with three other policemen – Sanjiv Kumar, Neeraj and Giriraj. PTI quoted Firozabad Superintendent of Police Rakesh Singh as saying the police used force to disperse the protesters who indulged in stone-pelting amidst heavy fog on the road.
The Congress slammed the Akhilesh Yadav government for the attack. “The situation is very bad in UP. The police let off those responsible for the accident and they lathi-charged the women… Even the police and administration seem like they are Samajwadi Party workers,” Congress leader Raj Babbar said.
There have been incidents before of police highhandedness being caught on camera in Uttar Pradesh. Rival parties accuse the Samajwadi Party government and its young chief minister of a complete breakdown of law and order in the state.
