The policeman had come to the BJP councillor's restaurant with a woman friend.
Highlights
- Cop accompanied by seemingly drunk woman friend
- Argument with the staff over delay in serving food
- Both taken to a police station and sent for medical examination
An Uttar Pradesh cop's Dussehra dinner ended with thrashing and a generous serving of expletives by the restaurant owner, who is also a BJP councillor. The policeman, in uniform, had accompanied a woman friend to a restaurant in Meerut when they reportedly had an argument with the staff over delay in serving food. In a cellphone video of the incident, shot by one of the staff members, the woman, a lawyer, can be seen holding a pistol, abusing and threatening Manish Kumar, the owner.
The councillor has been arrested today.
The cop, Sukhpal Singh Pawar, in charge of Mohiuddinpur police post, was reportedly drunk. Mr Kumar can be heard in the video screaming, pushing the cop before launching a series of slaps. The smacking continues till Mr Pawar loses his balance and falls on the floor.
His woman friend, seemingly drunk, tries to intervene when one of the owner's men takes away her mobile phone. After that she keeps using cuss words and threatening the men to return her phone. She also attacks them with cutlery, plates, bowls and damages other property at the restaurant.
As the cop lay on the floor, Mr Kumar dialled 100 to complain about the guests who he alleged were drunk and misbehaved with his staff.
The two were then taken to the Kankerkhera police station and sent them for medical examination. An internal inquiry was initiated against the cop. The police also filed a First Information Report or FIR against the hotel owner.
However, BJP lawmaker Vijaypal Singh Tomar claimed that the councillor thrashed the sub-inspector in self-defence.
"The BJP will not tolerate such hooliganism and allow others to take law into their own hands. This sub-inspector and the woman were drunk. They placed their order and when the food didn't arrive in 10 minutes, they started arguing and threw plates. I do not endorse such behavior. He (Manish) did it in self-defence. However, he should have complained to the authorities. He also thrashed him (sub-inspector) at the police station after he was arrested," Mr Tomar told news agency ANI.
"After Manish Kumar's arrest, his supporters came to protest. We showed them evidence. They were convinced and went back. The sub-inspector shouldn't have been there in the first place. Investigation is underway," senior police officer R Singh said.