UP Cop Drags Differently-Abled Man, Pushes Him To Ground; Suspended

A policeman in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj has been suspended and a probe has been initiated against him after he was seen in a video assaulting a differently-abled man.

The video of the incident - widely shared on social media - shows the police constable slapping the differently-abled man at the back of the head and pushing him to the ground at a police station in Kannauj, about 120 km from state capital Lucknow. 

Other policemen present around him do not respond as the differently-abled man is dragged in front of them.

The differently-abled man, who drives an e-rickshaw, said that constable abused and assaulted him for picking up passengers by the side of a road.

The constable, however, claimed that the differently-abled man misbehaved when he was asked to move to the side of the road to pick up passengers. The cop also accused the rikshaw puller of abusing him. 

Amarendra Pratap Singh, Kannauj district's Superintendent of police,  said the constable has been removed from duty and an enquiry has been ordered over the incident. 

Mr Singh added that police officers are "trained to control themselves and not misbehave with the public even if there is provocation". 

Later in the night, the constable's suspension was announced in a post on the Kannauj Police's Twitter handle.

"Strict action was taken by the accused following the report of Inspector Saurikh, incharge of police station where the unfortunate incident to the person with a disability took place. The accused accused of abusing Divyang (differently-abled person) was suspended with immediate effect and an inquiry has been ordered against him," the Kannauj police tweeted.