On Monday (1st January), a video of a Dalit woman being beaten in public by a police officer in Bihar’s Sitamarhi went viral on social media.
The video showed a police officer in uniform, Raj Kishore Singh, thrashing a woman with a stick multiple times in full public display. The cop reportedly charged at the victim after she and another woman were involved in a public brawl.
However, the footage has not been validated by the police. Sitamarhi SP Manoj Kumar Tiwari told the media that if the officer is proven guilty, suitable action will be taken against him. OpIndia could not independently verify the validity of the footage.
Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla stated that civilians in Bihar were being “lathi-charged” while criminals roamed freely.
The event sparked a public outcry, particularly because the cop was in uniform at the time. The Sitamarhi Police have announced an official investigation into the event. Vinod Kumar, the Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) meanwhile claimed that the incident was connected to the kidnapping of a girl.
He added that once the girl was rescued, both parties went to the police station and clashed outside. According to Kumar, the argument caused traffic congestion on the road, causing the police officer to use his baton to disperse the crowd.