A video of Dalit man and his wife stripping themselves naked by the police in Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar has created a storm in the social media. But the authorities are yet to act.
According to eye witnesses who saw the incident in Greater Noida on Wednesday, Gautam, his wife and families of his two brothers sat on dharna protesting against absence of action on their police complaint.
Gautam and his brothers were robbed on gun point on Tuesday evening while they were watering their farmland. Their motorbike besides some cash, was also taken by the robber about which Gautam went to police to get a FIR registered on Wednesday morning.
According to one of the eye witnesses Gautam wanted speedy action so he sat on a dharna demanding speedy action by authorities. It then that the police personnel came and started beating Sunil Gautam and families of his two brothers and their wives who were also sitting on dharna.
The video which got viral shows police dragging wife of Gautam's younger brother.
"They were badly beater and their clothe got torn in the police beating. After which Sunil Gautam further tore off his clothes and his wife in protest," said Aslam Khan a CPI (ML) leader who talked to several eye witnesses.
The families of Sunil Gautam and his brothers were later arrested and jailed. They have been arrested under section
The video which has gone viral on the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter has led to quite a storm on social media but the local police blamed Sunil Gautam.
Aslam Khan who was part of a fact finding team to find out the details of the case, termed it a case of "dalit atrocity".
"It is a dalit atrocity. Police forced them to sit on dharna. In protest they did it. The beating was started by police first if you would notice the video," he said.
"If you would see the video closely you would notice that Police started beating without any provocation," he added.
Khan argued that Sunil Gautam is a politically active person in the area. " It is only in very difficult circumstances that one is forced to do such things. Instead of handling the situation better, police just forced him to protest," he added.
"There is no woman constables there. A police man is dragging one of the woman by her leg. What will you call this," he added.
They have been arrested on charges including Section 307 attempt to murder, 294, 394, 223, 147, 148 , 353 of the IPC.
Khan alleged that by slapping so many charges on the three families police acted out of "vendetta." Those arrested include Sunil Gautam's wife, wives of his two brothers and their children.
"They could have handled it properly and calmly. The police could have told him that they are acting on his complaint. He just vent his anger," argued Khan.
After the social media storm a Twitter handle of Government of Uttar Pradesh clarified and accused the dalit victims of orchestrating the incident.
"Noida police is in possession of the alleged video of the alleged stripping; it clearly seen the accused disrobes/others," said the State government's Twitter handle quoting the Superintendent of Police of Noida.
"The witnesses present at the incident also corroborate the same; the video is circulated to undermine the efforts of the police," it further added.
