On 10th March, Delhi Police took on X (formerly Twitter) to “dismiss” claims made by netizens about a video that has gone viral where police officials were seen being pushed by a mob after officer Manoj Tomar had stopped people from offering namaz on the road. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North Delhi, quoted journalist Anupam Mishra who said that the incident took place on Saturday (9th March) were now-suspended Sub Inspector (SI) Manoj Tomar was attacked by a mob.
DCP wrote, “This is wrong information. The mentioned SI is not present in this video. The video is not of yesterday (Saturday) but of Friday, 8th March, when protestors had gathered in Inderlok. Locals escorted police officers to the police post after which a scuffle took place.”
This is wrong information. The mentioned SI is not present in this video.
— DCP North Delhi (@DcpNorthDelhi) March 10, 2024
The video is not of yesterday (Saturday) but of Friday, 8th March, when protestors had gathered in Inderlok. Locals escorted police officers to the police post after which scuffle took place.@CPDelhi https://t.co/pEHesmoySW
Muslim mob called to attack the police
In the viral video shared by Mishra, a large mob was seen pushing the police personnel towards the police post. One of the persons present at the scene was heard abusing the police saying, “This is the one. This is the one. Beat them. This is the one.” Soon after the mobsters started beating the police personnel which was visible in the video. Towards the end, a couple of the persons present at the scene were seen pushing police personnel in the opposite direction.
The irate Muslim mob was also seen abusing the police personnel while getting aggressive. In the video that has gone viral, one can hear some in the Muslim mob yell, ‘Yehi hai be*en ke lo*de. Maaro be*en ke lo*do ko. Maaro iski be*en ki ch*t. yehi hai la*di ka.’
DCP dismissed the post by Anupam Mishra claiming that the SI mentioned was not there. The DCP categorically avoided commenting on the attack by the Muslim mob against the police personnel present there. The dismissal by the police shocked netizens who in turn questioned the police about their stand.
Netizens react to ‘Locals escorted police officers’ comment
Anupam Mishra quoted DCP and wrote, “DCP North Delhi accepts that the video is from the Friday incident but insists that SI Manoj Tomar is not present in the “scuffle” between the police and the hostile crowd. However if you listen to the video, you can hear people saying “yahi hai $$$$, maro saale ko”.”
X user Mike_maitreya wrote, “Here is the product of the hallowed IPS farce somehow justifying the radical blood-thirsty mob as helpfully escorting uniformed cops to their station.. Crush Street power, set an example, shoot a few cockroaches, break some legs..”
X user Sahana said, “I was under the wrong impression that it was a crime to assault a policeman in uniform. Thank you for letting citizens know that it is not assault but escorting the police officers like this.”
Another X user said, “So, Delhi Police aka Denial Police accepts that video is indeed from Inderlok area and shows Namazis, the lords of Indian roads, manhandling Police officers. Few years back when they got into scuffle with Lawyers, Delhi Police employees staged a protest. But these are Namazis so no cop is objecting”.
So, Delhi Police aka Denial Police accepts that video is indeed from Inderlok area and shows Namazis, the lords of Indian roads, manhandling Police officers. Few years back when they got into scuffle with Lawyers, Delhi Police employees staged a protest. But these are Namazis so… https://t.co/7p3B3ib5Xh
— Divya Kumar Soti (@DivyaSoti) March 11, 2024
Delhi police suspended SI Manoj Tomar for ‘kicking’ Namazis encroaching road for prayers
Notably, this video was from 8th March, as per the police. The mob, which has been referred to as protesters by DCP in the post on X, had gathered to “protest” against SI Manoj Tomar who had “kicked” a Muslim man who was among the Namazis offering prayers on the road. SI Tomar had to use force as they were not paying heed to SI Tomar’s repeated request not to pray on the road and cause inconvenience to commuters.
A video of several Muslims offering namaz on the road in the Indralok area of Delhi surfaced online. In the video, an officer arrives and kicks a man offering namaz and angrily asks him to move. However, a longer version of this video had also surfaced in which it is seen that the Muslims offering namaz on the road were warned multiple times by the Delhi police before this incident took place. Netizens extended their support to the officer who tried to prevent Namaz from being offered on the road.
The video that went viral on 8th March was a 34-second snippet. Later, a longer video of the incident emerged which was a 1 minute 44 seconds clip showing Delhi police warning the people not to offer namaz on the road. However, the Muslims seen in the video continued to prepare themselves to offer namaz on the road disregarding the police warning. After this, the police officer is first seen pushing them away and then kicking two of those who offered namaz despite repeated warnings.
Thank God there’s this video showing how the @DelhiPolice cop tried very hard to prevent Namaz to be offered on road.
— ?????? भारतीय ?? (@seriousfunnyguy) March 8, 2024
I request @HMOIndia to not surrender to the mob & cancel his suspension order. Otherwise we will end up demotivating every other cop to not act. pic.twitter.com/pNa6kvexFX
The viral video showing SI Tomar kicking the Namazi went viral leading to his suspension for three months. Delhi Police officials said, “In the incident at Inderlok today, the Police Post in-charge, who was seen in the video has been suspended with immediate effect. Necessary disciplinary action is also taken.”
