Barwani district SP Nimish Agrawal said a probe by a sub-divisional officer police has been ordered into the incident
Barwani: Two
Sikhs were allegedly assaulted by policemen in Madhya Pradesh, prompting the
BJP-led state government to suspend two cops in this connection.
Those assaulted
include a granthi (caretaker of a gurdwara and reader of Guru Granth Sahib, the
central religious scripture of Sikhism), an official said.
The government
said assistant sub-inspector Sitaram Bhatnagar and head constable Mohan Jamre
have been suspended for not following due procedure while detaining the Sikhs.
Barwani district
Superintendent of Police Nimish Agrawal said a probe by a sub-divisional
officer police has been ordered into the incident, which took place on
Thursday.
The incident
took place in Rajpur tehsil of Barwani district after an argument between the
family of Giani Prem Singh Granthi - who was among those assaulted - and the
police over setting up a stall in the area.
A viral video of
the incident shows Prem Singh being dragged by policemen in full public view
and a cop pulling him by his hair. It also shows another policeman push a
turbaned man, who comes to save Singh.
State Congress
spokesperson Narendra Saluja tweeted the video and criticised the police.
"The
granthi has long been running a lock-keys shop near the Pulsood police outpost.
He was beaten, his turban desecrated and then he was pulled through hair on the
road in full public view by cops. This amounts to insulting religious
sentiments of the Sikh community," Saluja tweeted.
Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal took to Twitter to condemn the
incident.
"Too
shocking for words! The barbaric and humiliating attack on Giani Prem Singh
Granthi and other Sikhs in Madhya Pradesh is utterly inhuman and unacceptable.
I urge CM @ChouhanShivraj to set an example of punitive action against those
who treat the sword of the nation with such contempt," Badal tweeted.
"Beastly
attack on Giani Prem Singh Granthi & other Sikhs in MP is an outrage
against humanity. Utterly reprehensible & unacceptable! #Sikhs all over the
world are deeply shocked. I urge CM @ChouhanShivraj to take imm & examplary
action against all those guilty of this brutality," Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath tweeted, "This atrocity and anti-social act is disrespect to the holy Sikh religion. Such incidents cannot be tolerated. I demand from the government to immediately take strong action against those responsible for it and justice for the victims."
