An Assistant Sub-Inspector in Madhya Pradesh's Betul has been suspended after he allegedly told a lawyer that latter was beaten under impression that he was a Muslim because he was sporting a beard, reported The Week.
Here is the sequence of events:
On March 23, lawyer Deepak Bundele, 32, was on his way to a hospital amid the lockdown imposed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, on the way, he was allegdly badly beaten by a dozen policemen and his ear started bleeding, said Bundele. The lawyer then decided to pursue to the matter legally and wrote to the MP Bar Association, MP Human Rights Commission, National Bar Association and even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India over the incident and the inaction of the police in Madhya Pradesh's Betul.
In a latest development, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) B.S. Patel of Kotwali police station in Betul has been suspended after the ASI allegdly told the lawyer than he was beaten under impression that he was a Muslim because he was sporting a beard.
On May 17, the ASI and another officer had gone to Bundele's house and tried to convince him to withdraw his complaint. Meanwhile, the lawyer recorded the conversation. In the audio clip, the officers are heard saying that he was beaten under impression that he was a Muslim and that they were embarrassed because a "Hindu brother" had been assaulted in the incident. The ASI also said that whenever riots take place, police always takes the side of the Hindus and Muslims are badly beaten. The officer along with the ASI is also heard calling him a "Kattar Hindu".
Meanwhile, Ashutosh Rai, Inspector General (IG) of Hoshangabad range, said that the ASI was suspended and a probe is being conducted.
