On Thursday (November 9), the police issued a statement after a video of a cop thrashing an unarmed man with a child went viral on social media. The incident took place in Akbarpur town in Kanpur Dehat region of Uttar Pradesh.
In the contentious video shared by journalist Puneet Kumar Singh, a man dressed in police uniform could be seen assaulting another man with a baton. The unarmed ‘victim’, carrying a child could be heard saying, “Baccha ko lag jayega (The child will get hurt).” In his tweet, Singh wrote, “Look at this ignorant inspector from Kanpur. The girl is wrapped in the arms of the man and the cop is wielding his baton. He is yelling that the girl will get hurt, but the inspector remained unmoved.”
कानपुर के इस जाहिल दरोगा को देखिए, बच्ची हाथ में है और पिता के ऊपर लाठी भांज रहा है
— Puneet Kumar Singh (@puneetsinghlive) December 9, 2021
पिता चिल्ला रहा है बच्ची को लग जायेगा, बच्ची को लग जायेगा लेकिन दरोगा जी को कोई असर नही पड़ रहा हैpic.twitter.com/1TWIjL4vfp
The video of the incident was also shared by several Congress leaders, including Shama Mohammed and Srinivas BV.
In Kanpur Dehat, a policeman mercilessly thrashed a man carrying a child in his arms with laathis. This is absolutely barbaric & inhuman! Under @myogiadityanath, UP has become a police state ! pic.twitter.com/moAZFeVACU
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) December 10, 2021
योगी जी, इस मासूम की चीखें
— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) December 9, 2021
आपको सोने कैसे दे रही है? pic.twitter.com/nmnC1ko0rr
UP Police assure appropriate action against accused policeman
In a statement, the official Twitter handle of UP Police said, “A video of Police lathi charging a man holding a child has come to light. Such conduct on the part of Police Personnel despite repeated instructions to respect the dignity of every citizen is not acceptable. Prima-Facie report from district Police reveals that some protestors had locked the OPD of the District Hospital & disrupted its services…”
It further added, “The Police was attacked when they went to restore order on the request of the Chief Medical Superintendent following which use of mild force was done which is no justification for the insensitivity by the Policeman. ADG Zone Kanpur has been directed to get the matter enquired and take appropriate action against the guilty Policemen.”
जनपद कानपुर देहात में एक बच्चे को गोद में लिए हुए व्यक्ति पर पुलिस द्वारा लाठीचार्ज किये जाने के प्रकरण को अत्यंत गम्भीरता से लेते हुए @adgzonekanpur को प्रकरण की तत्काल जाँच करवाकर दोषी पुलिसकर्मियों के विरुद्ध कार्यवाही करने हेतु निर्देशित किया गया है।(1/2) pic.twitter.com/o4D0VMoHhU
— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) December 9, 2021
The Background of the Case
While speaking about the matter, Additional SP (Kanpur Dehat) Ghanshyam Chaurasia informed that a few miscreants were trying to shut down the OPD (Out Patient Department) of the district hospital.
He added, “In district hospital, a Grade-IV employee Rajneesh Shukla closed the OPD by spreading anarchy along with 100-150 people. They misbehaved with hospital employees and patients….Even after police tried to convince him, he did not listen to it and even locked the inspector and some police personnel in a room…Rajneesh Shukla even bit the finger of the SHO while attacking him…Light force was used to remove the miscreants.”
प्रदर्शनकारियों द्वारा अस्पताल की ओपीडी सेवाएँ बंद करने के कारण सीएमएस के अनुरोध पर अस्पताल की सेवाओं को सुचारू रूप से चलवाने हेतु पुलिस द्वारा प्रयास किया गया जिस दौरान पुलिस से अभद्रता की गयी।उग्र प्रदर्शनकारियों को नियंत्रित करने के दौरान दुःखद घटना घटित हुई जो आपत्तिजनक है। pic.twitter.com/imYvgufiGl
— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) December 9, 2021
He added that the man, seen with the child in the viral video, is the brother of Rajneesh Shukla. Chaurasia emphasised that special attention was given to ensure that the child was not hurt. He pointed out that the man was trying to incite the crowd and had carried the child along with him. Chaurasia informed that Rajneesh Shukla had been involved in assaulting the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).
