On Saturday (July 17) night, the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav shared a disturbing image in which it appeared that an Uttar Pradesh police officer was assaulting a woman. He claimed that the police officer was misbehaving.
In a tweet, the SP leader claimed, “Some police officials, who are working on the behest of the BJP, are tarnishing the image of the Uttar Pradesh police. Under the rule of the BJP, there is no dearth of lawlessness. Highly condemnable.”
उप्र में भाजपा सरकार के कृपापात्र बने कुछ पुलिसकर्मियों के दुर्व्यवहार से प्रदेश की समस्त पुलिस की छवि धूमिल होती है.
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 17, 2021
भाजपा के शासन में दुशासन की कमी नहीं.
घोर निंदनीय! #नहीं_चाहिए_भाजपा pic.twitter.com/tOmmbpe2RZ
Akhilesh Yadav’s tweet was accompanied by a picture, which gave the impression that a cop was sitting atop a woman and assaulting her. Yadav tried to portray the ruling BJP dispensation in poor light through his tweet, ahead of the 2022 UP State Legislative polls.
The archived version of his contentious tweet can be accessed here. Several videos have now surfaced online, which showcases the misleading nature of the caption and imagery used by Akhilesh Yadav. A Twitter user (@isinghDeepanshu) had tweeted an 8-second video of the incident, which shows the woman pulling the police officer by his neck and not the other way around. A similar video was also shared by the Official Twitter handle of Kanpur Dehat police.
टोटी चोरों हमेशा एजेंडा ही चलाना कुछ भी करो आएंगे तो महाराज जी ही 🚩🚩🙏🏻✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/7Ixqlw8Aox
— Deepanshu Singh (@isinghDeepanshu) July 17, 2021
In another video, the woman was seen trying to strip off her blouse in a bid to implicate the police official. A man was also seen provoking the cop, while he stood his ground in a non-aggressive manner. From the videos, it appeared that the police officer was the victim and not the aggressor as claimed by the Samajwadi party leader.
पूरा विडिओ देख लिया करिये… श्रीमान जी pic.twitter.com/nuwbveVMNj
— माटी का लाल …काफिर #3ह 🚩🚩🚩🚩 (@matikalal) July 17, 2021
In a statement released by the Kanpur Dehat police, it informed, “The Station-in-charge went to the village to capture an accused in a case. At that time, another man misbehaved with the police official, thereby leading to his arrest. Meanwhile, the relatives of the man including several women began to intervene and resist arrest. One of the women held the Station-in-charge by his collar and pulled him to the ground.”
“Attempts are being made to impart a different colour to the incident by sharing screenshots of the viral video. The woman had alleged misdemeanour and assault by the Station-in-charge. To ensure a free and fair investigation, the Station-in-charge has been suspended with immediate effect and the matter is now probed by the District-in-charge,” the police added in its statement.
थाना भोगनीपुर-चौकी इंचार्ज पुखरायां से सम्बन्धित वायरल फोटो के सम्वन्ध में पुलिस अधीक्षक कानपुर देहात द्वारा दी गई बाइट। @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/QGV2HiEoNN
— Kanpur Dehat Police (@kanpurdehatpol) July 17, 2021
Furthermore, in a video statement, the Bhognipur police added, “The onlookers made several attempts to separate the woman from the Station-in-charge. As evident from the video, he immediately got up and moved away when he was able to free himself from her clutches.” It emphasised that the facts of the case will further determine the course of action in the case.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav casts aspersions about UP Police
This is not the first time that the Samajwadi Party leader had cast aspersions on the integrity of the Uttar Pradesh police. On Monday (July 12), he took up the cudgel for the two arrested Al-Qaeda terrorists, raised aspersions and fuelled misapprehensions about the Yogi government’s anti-terror crackdown. The terrorists were reportedly planning to execute explosions, including using “human bombs”, at several places in Uttar Pradesh. When asked about his reaction on the latest arrests, the SP supremo said, “I can’t trust the actions of the Uttar Pradesh police and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in the state.”
