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MP: Police accused of beating elderly woman during clash with farmers in Bhopal
Police said the woman was sheltering troublemakers at her home, and denied reports that they had thrashed her.
A day after farmers clashed with law-enforcers in Phanda block of Bhopal district on Friday, police have been accused of mercilessly beating up an elderly woman under the pretense of maintaining law and order.
A photograph of four to five police personnel roughing up Kamla Bai Patel, a resident of Phanda block, also went viral on the social media. The 60-year-old woman alleged that police personnel dragged her out of her house and started thrashing her.
“I was beaten up for no fault of mine. It was utter chaos out there. Everybody was running helter-skelter, and police were thrashing everybody – regardless of age and gender,” she told mediapersons.
However, police said Kamla Bai was “sheltering troublemakers” at her home.
“When police entered her residence, she tried to prevent the police from arresting her husband, son and grandsons. She is lying about us beating her up. The photograph does not present a clear picture of what is happening,” said Suryakant Awasthi, the Khajuri police station in-charge.
However, Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress president Kunal Chaudhary said the images provide enough proof of the police’s barbarism. “A case must be registered against the police for misbehaving with the woman,” he added.
“We can’t even understand why the police beat her up like this,” said a villager on the condition of anonymity. “Kamla Bai is a 60-year-old woman, and they should not have treated her this way.”
