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The Delhi Police on Friday suspended three policemen after a video circulated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) showed them beating a person.
Backing its law minister Somnath Bharti, the AAP government has decided to take a rigorous stance against the Delhi Police. It has been alleged Bharti led a mob that illegally detained and harassed a group of African women on suspicion they were part of a prostitution and drugs racket. In the video, uploaded on AAP’s Facebook page, three police constables, identified as Rahul, Saurav and Jitender, were seen attacking a person with sticks outside the Red Fort.
“Not only does the video clearly show the Delhi Police’s inhuman behaviour, the urban legend of police extorting money is also caught on camera,” AAP said. It added the video was shot on January 12.
“We are posting videos to expose the real picture that shows the fraud state of affairs on the part of the police,” said AAP media coordinator Deepak Bajpai. He added the party stood by the cause for which Bharti was fighting and would continue to support him.
However, the Delhi Police denied taking action based on the video. “We got to know of the video from YouTube,” said Rajan Bhagat, public relations officer of Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, Bharti failed to appear before the Delhi Women’s Commission (DCW) on Friday, sending his lawyer Rishikesh Kumar to represent him. DCW chief Barkha Singh refused to entertain Kumar, saying lawyers couldn’t act as representatives. Bharti was summoned by the DWC on allegations that he led a mob who misbehaved with a few African women alleging a drug and prostitution ring in South Delhi last week.
The Bhartiya Janata Party staged protests at several places in the national capital, demanding Bharti’s resignation.
