Mathura cop faces probe after videos of misconduct with minor, youth go viral

A sub-inspector in Vrindavan has been sent to police lines and ordered to face a departmental inquiry after videos showed him allegedly misbehaving with a minor and a youth.

A sub-inspector posted at Banke Bihari police outpost here has been sent to police lines and a probe was ordered after videos purportedly showing him publicly misbehaving with a minor boy and a youth went viral on social media, officials said on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar ordered a departmental inquiry against Sub-Inspector Subodh Kumar Malik, who was posted at the Banke Bihari police outpost under the Vrindavan police station area.

According to a local, Ashish Srivastava, the incident took place on Sunday when he had stopped his scooter near the police outpost to attend a phone call.

Srivastava alleged that the sub-inspector, who was allegedly dragging and beating a boy aged below 10 years, noticed him and suspected that he was recording the incident on his mobile phone.

''He suddenly grabbed me by the collar and started dragging and slapping me despite my repeated questions about what had happened,'' Srivastava told mediapersons.

The viral video purportedly shows a policeman pulling Srivastava from his scooter while another constable is seen holding the vehicle. He was later taken to the police outpost.

After the video of the alleged assault on Srivastava surfaced on Monday, Mathura Police initiated action against the accused officer.

A police spokesperson said Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Rajeev Kumar Singh was conducting a departmental inquiry into the matter.

Police had initially claimed that the minor boy seen in the video had been caught while allegedly fleeing after stealing a devotee's mobile phone.

However, when asked about the FIR registered in the matter, station in-charge Sanjay Pandey told PTI that no such case had been registered.

Police officials also confirmed that no case had been registered against Srivastava.

Two video clips related to the incident went viral on Tuesday and drew widespread attention on social media.

In one of the clips, which was around 52 seconds long, people in the market could be allegedly heard asking the policemen to leave the child, while the boy is heard pleading.

Another 34-second clip purportedly shows the alleged misconduct with Srivastava and policemen taking both the youth and the child to the police outpost.

While accepting the authenticity of the clip involving Srivastava and citing it as the basis for action against the sub-inspector, police officials claimed that the second video clip was ''fake'' and allegedly generated using artificial intelligence.

Asked whether any investigation had been conducted to support the claim, Pandey said the clip had been examined by experts in Hyderabad, and the report suggested it was fabricated and circulated on social media.