"They Also Hit Grandma With Belt": Teen Thrashed By Cops In Madhya Pradesh

A group of railway policemen were seen thrashing a teen and his grandmother on CCTV at a railway station in Madhya Pradesh's Katni. The incident has sparked outrage on social media.

The men from the Government Railway Police (GRP) were interrogating the grandmother and her 15-year-old son over a suspected theft, reports said.

The group thrashed the woman first, and then turned towards his son, reports said.

The visuals show the teen lying on the ground while the GRP men hit him with a belt. Another man who is not in uniform is seen pulling the teen's hair and shaking his head from side to side.

"The police asked me where's my father. I didn't know where he was. The police took me to the traffic inspector's office. They then beat me up. They also hit my grandmother. They said my father has started stealing a lot," the minor told reporters. "My father is only a labourer," he said.

Katni SP Abhijeet Kumar Ranjan said they have launched an investigation headed by ASP Santosh Deharia to verify the video.

The Opposition Congress targetted the ruling BJP in the state over the incident, with former Chief Minister Kamal saying the incident shows Madhya Pradesh is unsafe for Dalits.

The police said it is an old incident involving the recovery of stolen jewellery. They said the GRP men seen in the video will be punished.