Custodial torture: UP cops deny knowledge of BJP MLA's 'return gift' video

As BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi received backlash over a tweet where he termed the police action on rioters as a 'return gift' for their violent protests against Nupur Sharma's controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad, the Uttar Pradesh Police denied any knowledge of the video. No one has filed a complaint and there is no investigation, they added.

In the video, shared by Tripathi on Twitter, the police can be seen mercilessly thrashing a group of men with the caption "return gift for rioters."

The incident in question allegedly occurred in Sahranpur.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed large-scale protests on Friday against the remarks by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, with many government vehicles torched.

Regardless of whether the alleged incident took place, the BJP MLA's tweet is clearly incendiary in nature, and liable to stoke the embers of communal tension.

After Tripathi’s tweet, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan posted the video on Twitter with a question: “Will these criminals in uniform be held liable for this brutality?”

In response to this, Tripathi retorted that, “It was necessary to remind them of the Constitution, especially those cowards who make a mockery of the Constitution by distributing a fatwa to chop off a woman’s head.”

No charges have been filed against the BJP legislator so far.