On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh Congress shared the purported video on X, showing a woman in civilian clothes, later identified as station in-charge Aruna Vahne, beating up Kusum Vanskar, a 60-year-old Dalit woman and her 15-year-old grandson, Deepraj, inside a Government Railway Police station in Katni district.
Six personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP), including a station in-charge, were suspended by the Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday, day after a shocking video went viral on social media sites, showing a 60-year-old Dalit woman and her 15-year-old grandson being assaulted by police officers inside a GRP station in Katni district.
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The video clip, which is nearly a year old, surfaced on social media platforms on Thursday, purportedly showing Katni GRP station in-charge Aruna Vahne, assaulting an elderly Dalit woman, identified as Kusum Vanskar, with a large wooden stick as the victim winces and cries out in agony.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: (Warning: Disturbing Visuals)
The clip, reportedly from October last year, also shows a teenage boy, who is reportedly the woman’s grandson, being viciously beaten and kicked by a group of police officers.
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After the video went viral, Vahne issued a “clarification” for her actions, stating that the police had detained Kusum and her 15-year-old grandson Deepraj, because her son Deepak Vanskar, a wanted criminal who carried a bounty of Rs 10,000 on his head, was absconding.
Vahne alleged that Deepak’s family supported his criminal acts and were being interrogated to locate his whereabouts.
Notably, Deepak was later arrested and is currently behind bars.
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6 GRP personnel suspended
Meanwhile, following the uproar over the incident, the Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday suspended the station in-charge along with five other GRP personnel.
“An old video of beating of GRP Katni police station cops is getting viral on social media. After I took cognizance of it, I have asked DIG Rail to go to the spot for probing the incident. As per the preliminary probe, I have ordered the suspension with immediate effect of the then GRP police station in-charge, a head constable and four constables,” Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said in a post on X.
Station in-charge Aruna Vahne, head constable Ajay Shrivastava, constables Shoaib Abbasi, Salman Khan, Omkar Sirsam, and woman constable Varsha Dube have been suspended with immediate effect, said an official.
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Congress demands FIR against cops
The action came after the Congress on Wednesday shared a purported video of the incident, said to have taken place in October 2023, on X.
On Thursday, state Congress president Jitu Patwari and media department chairman Mukesh Nayak visited Katni and met the victims, Kusum Vanskar and her grandson Deeparaj, who narrated their ordeal in front of reporters, about how they were mercilessly beaten with sticks in the police station.
Patwari asked Kusum Vanskar if she wanted an FIR registered against the cops, to which she nodded yes. The Congress leaders then accompanied her to the police station where they staged a sit-in with Patwari averring that they will not leave until the FIR was registered.
The protest was ongoing till late in the evening.
5 cops taken off field duty
Earlier, five cops were taken off field duty on Thursday over the incident, a senior police official said.
“There was a person named Deepak Vanshkar against whom 19 cases are registered, and who was absconding. He was also externed from the district. His family members had been called to the police station last October for questioning in this regard,” Superintendent of Police (GRP) Simala Prasad told news agency PTI.
“The video of the questioning went viral. Cases had also been registered against the woman and minor in Katni. All the police personnel visible in the video have been line-attached (taken off field duty),” SP Prasad added.
The SP further said that a probe was underway to ascertain why the cops treated the woman and her grandson in this vile manner and how the the official footage of the incident became public.
Deputy Inspector General, railway, Monica Shukla arrived in Katni on Thursday and conducted the probe into the incident, sources said, according to the PTI report.
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‘What’s happening in Madhya Pradesh?’
On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh Congress shared the purported video on X, showing a woman in civilian clothes, later identified as station in-charge Aruna Vahne, beating up an elderly woman and a teenage boy in a room.
Later, other police officials arrive in the room and join Vahne in beating up the duo.
“Chief Minister Mohan Yadavji, will you tell us what is happening in Madhya Pradesh? Under the pretext of maintaining law and order, your police department is indulging in hooliganism and is hell-bent on taking the lives of people,” the opposition party said in the post on X.
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“The cruelty with which the Katni Government Railway Police (GRP) station in-charge beat up the 15-year-old boy and his grandmother from a Dalit family is agonising. From where did they get so much courage to do so? Is it due to your negligence? Have you given them permission to indulge in such acts?” the Congress said, terming the incident as “shameful”.
