UP Cops Rain Blows On Women, Police Say They Threw Stones

Ambedkar Nagar, UP:

A video of Uttar Pradesh policemen raining lathis on women and shouting abuses has sparked allegations of police excesses. The police claim they used “minor force” after the women started throwing stones at them and their vehicles.

The video, now viral, is from Jalalpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district. The police were acting against women protesting over the vandalism of a statue of BR Ambedkar in the area recently. The protests set off a dispute over the land on which the statue stands.

A group of women was protesting at the spot on Sunday when the police arrived to disperse them. According to the police, some of the protesters started throwing stones at the cops, including a senior officer.

In another video, some women were seen attacking and pulling at the hair of female police personnel.

“During the chaos, some protestors also attacked and vandalised a police car,” said senior Ambedkar Nagar police officer Ajit Kumar Sinha.

Police then had to use “minor force” to bring the situation under control, he added.