Alleged VHP men beat Meerut woman's Muslim friend as a policeman watches
Highlights
- Four policemen were seen attacking, abusing woman in video
- They have been suspended and an investigation is on
- Woman said they were attacked while studying at friend's home
Two days after a disturbing video from Meerut showed the Uttar Pradesh police personnel hitting and abusing a woman in a police vehicle for being friendly with a Muslim man, another video from the same day shows right wing goons assaulting her friend in the presence of a cop. The UP police chief Om Prakash Singh, in a tweet said, "The Meerut incident is an act of gross imprudence by a few errant cops. Irresponsible and insensitive behaviour by UP cops would not be tolerated. The job of a policeman is to maintain highest standards of probity, which must be upheld at all times. Corrective action is being taken."
The incident took place on Sunday, when the woman and her Muslim friend, both medical students in their 20s, were targeted by a group of men, allegedly from the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The men barged into the man's home, assaulted the pair and handed them over to the police.
The attackers accused the two of "love jihad", a term used by right wing groups to describe a relationship between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man.
The 50-second video being circulated on social media shows the Muslim man in a blue shirt, standing outside his home, surrounded by men from right wing groups, with a cop standing next to him. The man's face looks injured, and he can be heard trying to reason with the men who abused and heckled him.
"Padhai kar rahe ho ki love jihad kar rahe ho (Are you studying or doing love jihad?), says one of them, while another is heard saying, "ek ek ko chun ke maarenge hum (Will pick each one out and beat them). Suddenly, three men started assaulting the Muslim man and all the cop can be heard saying is "arre bas (enough now)"
Soon after, more policemen arrived on the spot, bundled the man and woman into two different vehicles, and took them to the local police station. On the way to the police station, the student was thrashed by a woman constable while another asked her, why choose a Muslim man over a Hindu?
The four policemen seen attacking and abusing the woman in the video have been suspended and an investigation is on. The woman told the media that they were attacked when they were studying at her friend's home. "We were sitting and studying when members of Bajrang Dal came, locked me up in a room and beat him. They asked me for an ID card and taunted us saying 'how will you get married? He's Muslim, you're Hindu'. We said there's nothing like that. Police reached later and put us in separate vehicles. They misbehaved with me. In the police station, a woman asked me to file a rape complaint against him. My family and I refused," said the woman.