Madhya Pradesh: Police brutality goes viral, two cops taken off duty

BHOPAL: A gruesome video of two policemen beating a man in Chhindwara went viral on Saturday, prompting the authorities to remove the two from active duty and order a probe.


One of the cops is particularly brutal on the man, hitting him on the neck and head repeatedly with a lathi. Even when he collapses on the ground, he goes on smashing the lathi on his head and even kicks him in the face.

The cop hit him 12 times with the lathi in just eight seconds, with repeated blows to the head and neck. The man crumples without raising a finger in protest. But the beating goes on. At least three more whacks from the lathi and a kick to the face as he lies unmoving. Another cop tries to stop him once, but the lathiwielder brushes him off.

Cop: Such beating cannot be justified

The video cuts off when the two are dragging the unconscious man into the back of a police van.

The incident, said to be around 12 days old, took place near Piplayanaryanwar police outpost. Action was taken after the video went viral.

SP Chhindwara, Vivek Agarwal said, “After we got to know of it, both the constables seen in the video were removed from active duty and a probe has been constituted.”

The victim has been identified as local resident Nanu, who was allegedly drunk and creating a nuisance outside a bank in the local market, say sources. The locals called police. Nanu has repeatedly been accused of drunken disorderly conduct and police often had to intervene.

But one of the cops who responded to the call this time, unleashed brute force.

A subdivisional police officer has been assigned the probe, said an official.

“Such beating cannot be justified under any circumstances, hence immediate action was taken and both cops were removed from duty,” he added.