Haryana: 2018 Video Of Cops Beating A Woman Goes Viral, Three Officials Sacked & Two Suspended

The Haryana police have suspended two head constables and terminated services of three special police officers (SPOs) with immediate effect after a video of a woman being beaten up surfaced on social media. The video which was taken in October 2018 was recently posted on social media and it went viral. The accused have been identified as head constables Baldev and Rohit, and special police officers Krishna, Harpal and Dinesh.

While Harpal and Dinesh have been arrested, police are looking for the others.

#BigNews : खट्टर राज में पुलिस थानों में भी सुरक्षित नहीं महिलाएं !

बल्लभगढ़ में पुलिस की शर्मनाक करतूत

पुलिस थाने में पुरुष पुलिस कर्मी ने महिला को बेल्ट से पीटा। pic.twitter.com/gBw8VIrOSn

— ONE HARYANA (@OneHaryanaOffcl) May 27, 2019

On Monday, May 27, an FIR was lodged under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code after the video surfaced.

When Was The Video Taken?

Although several people are tweeting the video now, which may be misleading others into believing that the incident is recent, this actually took place in October 2018. However, the victim did not report this to the police. The Logical Indian verified the same with the police.

The video shows three policemen beating a woman with a belt for not sharing the desired information. The woman gives them a phone number and pleads with them saying that she does not have any other information. Suspension of head constables Baldev and Rohit and dismissal of three SPOs Krishan, Harpal and Dinesh were ordered by Faridabad police commissioner Sanjay Kumar.

In October 2018, the police officials went to the park after being told that a man and a woman were “doing something wrong”. Allegedly, the man fled on seeing them approach, and the policemen went on to harass the woman.

A case against them was registered at the Adarsh Nagar police station in Faridabad after the video surfaced. A police spokesman said that the video went viral recently, following which police verified the details of the incident. Further, the state women commission brought the incident to the Haryana Police’s notice on May 27.

Claiming that the police were trying to trace the accused, he said that even if the perpetrators are its own personnel, the strictest possible action will be taken.

“After contact is established, her statement would be recorded for further investigation,” Hindustan Times reported Faridabad Police spokesperson Sube Singh as saying.

2/3: Haryana Police is committed to respect and safety of women, and would not hesitate to take the strictest possible action even against its own personnel in case they act in unlawful manner

— Navdeep Virk, IPS (@nsvirk) May 27, 2019

The Logical Indian Take

Moral policing involves vigilante groups in India which attempt to enforce a code of morality without any legal authority. If the police personnel had genuinely caught the woman doing something wrong or committing a crime, they should have ideally called a woman police officer to deal with her.

It is indeed disappointing that the incident was not reported immediately after it took place.

It is harrowing to see that people who are committed towards the safety and security of women in the country are the ones indulging in unlawful acts. The Logical Indian condemns the horrifying act and urges authorities to take quick and strict action against those who are found guilty.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh: Woman Beaten, Disrobed & Paraded Naked For Allegedly Resisting Harassment