State Congress chief Jitu Patwari demands the resignation of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — A video of a minor Dalit boy and his grandmother being brutally assaulted by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district has sparked outrage and led to the suspension of six police personnel.
The video, posted by Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jitu Patwari on his social media accounts, shows a woman GRP officer thrashing a teenage boy and his elderly grandmother with sticks. Later, five male personnel entered the room and began beating the boy with batons mercilessly.
The incident is said to have occurred last October but the video went viral only on Wednesday.
Talking to the media about the incident, the victim woman said she was assaulted the whole night.
“Police took me away, I was told that senior officer had called me in. Once there, I was asked where my son was. I told them that I didn’t know where he was, I told them to get hold of him, thrash him, do whatever they want… She asked me for information and then shut all doors and windows & thrashed me with a plastic baton. She also kicked me. I was beaten up all through the night…When I asked for water, I was kicked. My grandson was with me. He was taken somewhere else and thrashed…,” she said.
Sharing the video, Patwari slammed the Mohan Yadav government and demanded the resignation of the chief minister.
“The entire Madhya Pradesh is shocked by the gruesome incident in Katni. A Dalit mother and son were beaten to near death with sticks in a closed room by goons in the uniform of the BJP. Dalits of Madhya Pradesh are forced to live a horrific life under the misrule of the BJP. If the chief minister cannot protect the people of his state, he should resign immediately,” he said.
He further said: “The incidents of Sagar, Satna, Narsinghpur, Ashoknagar and now Katni continuously raise questions on the capability and intentions of Mohan Yadav. Can the chief minister of our state provide security to any Dalit family? I and the entire Congress Party stand with the victim’s family in this unbearable grief and pain and assure to fight every battle to get them justice and security.”
On Thursday, Patwari held a sit-in along with his supporters demanding an FIR against the erring police officer. He said that if an FIR is not lodged, he will move the court for action against the accused.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said: “An old video of the beating of GRP Katni police station cops is getting viral on social media. After I took cognisance of it, I asked DIG Rail to go to the spot to probe the incident. As per the preliminary probe, I have ordered suspension with immediate effect of the GRP police station in-charge, a head constable and four constables.”
Superintendent of Police (GRP) Simala Prasad said an FIR was also filed against the woman and the minor boy.
“The video of the questioning went viral. Cases have also been registered against a woman and minor in Katni. All the police personnel visible in the video have been line-attached (taken off field duty),” she was quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying.
Talking about the incident, she said: “A person named Deepak Vanshkar had 19 cases registered against him, and he was absconding. He was also externed from the district. His family members were called to the police station last October for questioning.”
