The Indian Army jawan Pawan Kumar Yadav was stopped by the policemen and his bike keys taken away.
An Indian Army jawan was ruthlessly beaten up by police personnel in Chatra district of Jharkhand for not wearing a mask on Wednesday. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media and messaging apps, stoking much anger.
Following the outrage, three police personnel, along with two other officials, have been suspended. The action was taken based on a report on the incident submitted by officials in the Chatra Superintendent of Police's (SP) office.
Video footage show the jawan, identified as Pawan Kumar Yadav, being thrashed, kicked, and slapped by a whole bunch of policemen in the Karma Bazar locality of Chatra. The cops were conducting checks in the area as part of a drive to enforce the wearing of masks when Mr Yadav, a resident of Aara-Bhusahi village nearby, arrived there on his bike.
He was stopped by the policemen and his bike key was removed by one of the cops, Havaldar Sanjay Bahadur Rana. His two-wheeler's keys being taken away infuriated the army man who protested strongly.
This sparked a volley of blows and kicks -- many of the police personnel who took part in the assault were themselves not wearing masks, as one of the video clips of the incident show.
Mr Yadav was taken to the Mayurhand police station after angry villagers intervened. Chatra SP Rakesh Ranjan took cognisance of the matter and sought a report. Sunil Kumar Singh, the local MP, spoke to Mr Ranjan and sought stringent action against the police personnel involved.