A 12-year-old boy was allegedly brutally beaten up by a Constable in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri on Saturday night for not wearing a mask.
The police said they are enquiring into the matter.
Autorickshaw driver Darshan Singh (40) from Kalyanpuri said that on Saturday at 9.30 p.m., his son had stepped out of the house to play with his friends in the locality when the incident took place.
“Children are stuck at home all day and they get frustrated too. At night, he stepped out to play as there would be less crowd. He was not wearing a mask,” Mr. Singh said.
A while later, he added, two Constables came to the spot and started yelling at people. “My son got scared and started to run when one of the Constables chased him down. The Constable beat him black and blue and even broke his arm. He beat him with a stick and there are witnesses to the incident,” Mr. Singh wrote in his written complaint addressed to District DCP.
Mr. Singh said after the incident, he informed the police. “A PCR van then took my child to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital,” he said.
Next, he said they went to police station but “they refused to lodge our complaint. Instead, they blamed my son for selling liquor and drugs, which is a false allegation”.
Mr. Singh alleged that he was being forced to reach a compromise and was being threatened that the son will be implicated in a false case.
“Police in this area have wreaked havoc. I understand that one should wear mask, but should they beat someone to this extent?” he questioned adding that police staff is complicit in selling drugs and liquor in the area.
Police sources, however, said a woman who lives close to the complainant’s residence sells liquor and uses children to deliver it. A raid was also conducted last week, sources added.
DCP (East) Priyanka Kashyap said a fact-finding committee has been set up. “If the staff is found complicit, strictest possible action will be taken,” she said.
