Kanpur (UP), Jul 15 (PTI) Eleven policemen, including five head constables, were suspended here on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting and looting a truck driver and his assistant transporting cattle, a senior official said.
The incident took place on Saturday when the police personnel chased the truck and forced driver Lakshman and his assistant Mohd Uzair to give Rs 500 to each policeman, said Additional DCP (South) Yogesh Kumar.
A video of the incident went viral, prompting officials to initiate an inquiry against the erring policemen.
Those placed under suspension were identified as head constables Rishi Rajan, Ameer Hasan, Pradeep Kumar, Ajay Kumar Yadav and Anand Kumar; constables Hari Om, Atul Sachan, Sonu Yadav, Uma Shankar Dixit; and women constables Rinki Rani and Aaradhna, officials said.
The police personnel, including Rishi Rajan, Hari Om and Atul Sachan, had assaulted Lakshman alias Lucky and Uzair and hit on their eyes with a stick and also looted Rs 10,000 cash from them, they said.
According to an official statement issued here, the truck carrying cattle was on way to Aligarh via Ramadevi-Bhunti highway from Sarsaul and had hardly reached Barra highway when it was stopped by the police team.
Later, a couple of more police vehicles attached with Hanumant Vihar police station arrived there and the policemen demanded money threatening police action.
When the driver and his assistant refused to pay the bribe, the policemen pulled out Lakshman and Uzair from the vehicle and thrashed them, the statement said, adding an FIR on charges of cruelty against animals was also registered against the victims.
Lakshman and Uzair made their own video and posted it online, the officials said.
Assistant commissioner of police (Dial 112) has been asked to initiate departmental inquiry against the erring policemen, they added. PTI COR ABN KVK KVK
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