Allegedly abused and roughed up by five youths for flagging down their car at a picket near Najafgarh on Friday night, a group of policemen responded by raining punches, kicks and lathi blows on them.
Accusing the police of thrashing them on the road and then again at the local Baba Haridas Nagar police station, the youths displayed the injuries as “evidence” of the assault.
Surender Kumar, DCP (South-West), said that the policemen were forced to respond after the youths “provoked” them by first hurling verbal abuses before tearing their uniforms and assaulting them. The DCP, however, asserted that no force of any kind was used against the youths at the police station. “Three of the policemen involved in the incident have been sent to district police lines pending further inquiry,” said Mr. Kumar.
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He said no FIR has been registered from either side because in the initial enquiry the police have not found any “cognizable offence”. “The assault was from both sides. No one suffered grievous injuries,” the DCP said.
Dependra Pathak, Joint CP (South-Western Range), said that the youths were caught drinking inside their car and the policemen had to forcibly stop their vehicle.
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“For the past few months, we have been implementing a drive known as ‘area domination scheme’ in Najafgarh and nearby areas. It is a part of tough policing in which we stop and question youths who drink in public places, indulge in suspicious activities, drive rashly or travel in SUVs with tinted glasses,” Mr. Pathak told The Hindu .
The officer, however, added that any complaints submitted by the youths in connection with this incident will be thoroughly probed.
The youths involved have been identified as Gaurav, his cousin Anmol, and their three friends Nishant, Raj and Deepak. Aged between 21 and 25, the friends are natives of Bahadurgah and Jharoda Kalan villages. The five were headed to Jaipur on Friday night in Anmol’s Skoda Octavia car when they were stopped at a market near Najafgarh. “Since there was no place to stop near the picket, we stopped a few metres ahead. Anmol, who was driving the car walked out, but was greeted with a slap by a constable,” said Gaurav.
He claimed that none of them was drunk, they had their documents in order and were driving at a very slow speed. “When we asked for the reason behind the assault, they chose not to reply. When we protested at their behaviour, we were all beaten up,” alleged Nishant.
Within minutes, more policemen arrived and packed the five in vehicles and drove them to Baba Haridas Nagar police station. “The policemen there beat us for an hour with lathis and kicks. My friend Deepak was restrained by two policemen while a third slapped him continuously for 10 minutes,” alleged Gaurav.
The youths also alleged that a local politician’s grandson, whose house was near the incident spot, had recorded the incident on his mobile phone, but he too was thrashed. The police have dismissed this allegation as baseless.
One of these youths’ uncle, who is a Delhi Police inspector, came to their rescue on receiving a phone call. Meanwhile, seeking action against the policemen, the family and friends of these youths staged a protest outside the police station as well as in Jharoda Kalan village on Saturday.
The youths claimed that none of them were drunk and
that their documents were in order