Chowki in-charge in Noida suspended for assaulting tea-seller

The action comes a day after an inquiry was ordered into the matter over a purported audio clip surfacing on social media in which the tea-seller alleged assault and bribe demand by the Atta police post in-charge and a constable. In the clip, the vendor claimed he was trying to open his shop in Sector 27, under Sector 20 police station area, on August 23 when the two policemen stopped him and asked him for Rs 10,000 if he wanted to carry on his work.

A police post (chowki) in-charge in Noida was suspended on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting and demanding a bribe from a tea-seller for opening his stall during a weekend lockdown, officials said. The action comes a day after an inquiry was ordered into the matter over a purported audio clip surfacing on social media in which the tea-seller alleged assault and bribe demand by the Atta police post in-charge and a constable.

In the clip, the vendor claimed he was trying to open his shop in Sector 27, under Sector 20 police station area, on August 23 when the two policemen stopped him and asked him for Rs 10,000 if he wanted to carry on his work. The vendor also claimed in the clip that the matter was settled at Rs 5,000, but then he refused to paying them any money after which he was assaulted.

Notably, August 23 was a Saturday when lockdown-like curbs were in place in the city, like elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh, where the government has order restricted outdoor movement of the public during the weekends. Taking cognisance of the matter, the district police had ordered a probe, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"During the probe, it was found that the tea-seller had not complied with the lockdown order. Sub-Inspector Vipin Kumar did not take action against the vendor as per rules. He brought the vendor to his police post and left him there. The sub-inspector has been suspended with immediate effect as a disciplinary action against him," the spokesperson said. Around a dozen policemen have been shunted or suspended for assaulting, manhandling or harassing people across Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district since May.

On August 8, three police personnel were shunted for allegedly assaulting a man in Greater Noida's Dhom Manikpur village. On June 2, a constable was suspended and an officer who was in charge of the Sector 29 police post was recalled to the Police Lines for allegedly harassing a man in Sector 29.

Earlier, a sub-inspector and two constables attached with Dankaur police station in Greater Noida were suspended on May 31 for assaulting a man. On May 16, a couple of women standing in a queue to procure rations during the lockdown were assaulted by a policeman deployed in Noida, prompting his immediate suspension from duty.