In a video that has now gone viral online, a group of 5 men, including one minor could be seen assaulting police officers at Annabhau Sathe junction near the District Collector’s office in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The incident took place on Thursday around 11:45 am, amidst the nationwide lockdown that was imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.
औरंगाबादमध्ये लॉकडाउनमध्ये अडवल्याने पोलिसांना लाठीने मारहाण करण्यात आल्याची संतापजनक घटना घडली आहे. @MumbaiPolice #Maharashtra @DGPMaharashtra @OfficeofUT @CMOMaharashtra @AnilDeshmukhNCP pic.twitter.com/q3MyCWWWCD
— LoksattaLive (@LoksattaLive) April 9, 2020
Police personnel were deployed in the area to check on people who were deliberately violating lockdown guidelines or out on a joy ride in their private vehicles. When the cops stopped a two-wheeler for persons going triple-seat, the trio began arguing with the police. They were soon joined by two other friends.
When one accused began heckling a police officer, he retaliated by hitting the accused with his baton. The perpetrator then snatched the stick and resorted to brutally assaulting the cop. The other accused too joined in the scuffle and began assaulting the policemen standing at the scene.
A police case was registered against the four men and a minor for violating lockdown and assaulting a police officer on duty. The accused, excluding the minor, have been identified as Shaikh Farookh Shaikh Kadar, Shaikh Sharukh Shaikh Farookh, Shaikh Sajid Shaikh Farookh, and Shaikh Sameer Shaihkh Salim. While the first two had been arrested, the minor was detained. The cops are now searching for the last two accused who have been on the run from law enforcement.
Earlier, two men identified as Tajuddin and Kutubuddin who had brutally thrashed two policemen for stopping them for breaching a check post during the nationwide lockdown were arrested by the Bengaluru police on March 26. Reportedly, the accused were over-speeding and performing stunts on bikes during the lockdown.
They had breached the check post at Bhoopasandra, Sanjay Nagar in Bengaluru. When the cops tried to catch the two accused, they had assaulted the two policemen, namely, Manjunatha and Basavararaju. A video, showing a group of young men arguing with the constables in uniform and then a couple of them attacking and pushing the cops on to the street, had surfaced on social media. A woman in the group was also seen instigating others to attack the policemen.