Lucknow: In the past 48 hours, Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh has been on edge following a clash between two soldiers and the local police.
It led to the arrest of the soldiers and the filing of an FIR against the policemen for the offense of threatening to cause injury. Senior army and police officers had to intervene to bring down tempers.
The incident happened Saturday, when jawans Amit and Ajit Singh, who came to their village, Dhurra Khas Urf Premnagar, on leave, allegedly attacked the outpost in charge and a constable at the Kasba police post under the Atrauli police station. In retaliation, Atrauli police allegedly beat the two brothers in the middle of the market and took them to the police station.
According to the Aligarh police, the brothers had reached to lodge a complaint against their neighbour regarding a land dispute. An argument soon escalated into a fight between the two sides. The outpost in charge reportedly told the army men to go to the police station but they insisted their complaint be registered there itself.
Villagers claim that the policemen beat the brothers and took the duo along with them. The police used unnecessary force and not sparing even women who tried to stop the fight, they alleged. A video of the episode went viral on social media.
On Sunday, after news of the assault spread, ex-servicemen and local villagers in large numbers raised slogans against the police and surrounded the station, forcing the police to call reinforcements from nearby areas.
The villagers accused the police of high-handed behaviour. Later, army and police officials held talks to calm the situation.
Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjeev Suman stated that the clash occurred following an argument, and both sides were involved in the ensuing fight. He admitted that a policeman had kicked a soldier while trying to control him, which led to objections from the villagers and family.
The SSP added that the issue was resolved after necessary action had been taken by both sides. “’As of now, both army men are in judicial custody whereas an FIR has also been registered against policemen Sandeep Kumar and Satya Prakash after the complaint filed by the army men’s family,” Suman told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Judicial panel’s report on Sambhal violence points to ‘pre-planned conspiracy’, demographic change