A police inspector in Srikakulam district was on Wednesday placed under suspension after a video clip of his purportedly kicking and abusing a Dalit man went viral.
Director General of Police D G Sawang placed the Kasibugga inspector Venugopal under suspension and ordered an inquiry into the incident.
This was the third such incident in the last fortnight where some police personnel were found behaving allegedly in a high-handed manner and in all these cases Dalit men were at the receiving end.
The first incident happened in Rajamahendravaram, where a Dalit man had his head tonsured and was beaten up allegedly by police and the second at Chirala where a Dalit man died after local police allegedly beat him up.
As former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted the Srikakulam video clip and alleged that the ruling YSR Congressmen were behind the incident, the DGP responded saying “there is no involvement of any political party as alleged.”
The Srikakulam district Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar visited the Dalit man Marri Jagans house and enquired about the incident.
Deputy Chief Minister (Revenue) Dharmana Krishna Das, who hails from the district, condemned the inspectors highhanded behavior and said the government was committed to the protection of Dalits.
He said the Visakhapatnam Range Deputy Inspector General of Police has been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
It all happened when Jagan went to lodge a complaint against an attack on him by some YSRC men after he questioned them over the house-sites issue.
The video footage shows the inspector standing outside the Tekkali town police station when Jagan approaches with his mother.
As Jagan is speaking, the inspector is seen kicking and also beating him.
A video was later circulated in which Jagan claims there was nothing wrong with the inspector and it was he himself who spoke in a rash tone.
“The inspector chided me for speaking in such a tone.
He was so courteous towards me. He made me sit inside the police station and gave me lunch and cautioned me against getting into any tussle with others,” Jagan is purportedly heard saying, even as someone is heard prompting certain words.
He said some Dalit organisations, media and political parties were trying to politicise the issue.
Jagans mother claimed the inspector treated her like a mother and “he looked like my son.”
