Woman IPS officer transferred after viral video about 'thrashing' Dalits

A woman police officer in Maharashtra Beed's district has been transferred after she allegedly bragged about thrashing as many as 21 Dalits by "tying their hands and legs" to vent her ire against the SC/ST Atrocities Act, a senior officer said Monday.

In a video that has gone viral, Bhagyashree Navtake, a probationary Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who was posted as an assistant superintendent of police in Majalgaon, over 400 km from here, purportedly said she had also beaten up Muslims in the last six months.

The clip shows the IPS officer seated in front of a group of five-six people in a closed place and talking about the "action" she had taken against Dalits and Muslims.

Looking at a person seated in front of her, the officer says in Marathi, "I hit you just four-five times. But do you know how we beat Dalits? We tie their hands and legs and thrash them.

"By thrashing Dalits, I gave vent to my anger against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act," she says.

The context in which the officer is talking about "thrashing Dalits and Muslims" is, however, not known.

Navtake can also be heard saying that she was unhappy because she had to become an IPS officer despite ranking 125 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination.

"I am from the 'open' (general) category... A candidate from the OBC (Other Backward Classes) category became an IAS officer despite scoring 600th rank," she said in the video.

A senior police officer said in Mumbai that the office of the director general of police had transferred Navtake after taking cognisance of the video.

"She was attached to the Aurangabad unit of the state intelligence department (SID) on Monday and an enquiry has been initiated against her," he said, adding that a special inspector general of police (IGP)-level officer would head the probe.

When contacted by PTI for her comments, Navtake sent an SMS saying: "Enquiry is on. Don't want to comment."

(With inputs from agencies.)