Rajasthan cop filmed kneeling on a man’s neck, but the similarity with George Floyd case ends there

Senior Rajasthan police officer said the accused thrashed the cop and threatened to kill him.

A video of a Rajasthan cop kneeling on the neck of an accused went viral on Saturday for its perceived similarity with the George Floyd case in the US. However, cops claimed that the accused in this case had been pinned down after he had unleashed physical assault on a police constable and even threatened to kill him, when questioned for violating public safety norms by not wearing a mask in a public place.

The video of an incident involving a Jodhpur cop trying to contain an accused has gone viral on social media. (Screengrab)

The incident was reported from Jodhpur on Thursday afternoon, when a city police constable confronted one Mukesh Kumar Prajapat-- who reportedly has two cases of ‘voluntarily-causing-hurt’ against him—for not wearing a mask at a public place, risking contamination from coronavirus disease.

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“Prajapat was not wearing a mask in a public place which is against the order of the state government, therefore the constable clicked Prajaptat’s photo. When the constable asked Prajapat to wear a mask, he threatened and abused the cop” said Priti Chandra, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), West, Jodhpur.

According to her, the constable called the police patrolling vehicle for help after being threatened.

Watch | Jodhpur cops thrash & kneel on man’s neck for not wearing mask

“Before the vehicle arrived, Prajapat started thrashing the cop. Even in the video, Prajapat can be seen slapping and punching the constable. He didn’t stop even after the police vehicle arrived and snatched the mobile phone from a constable and tried to break it by throwing the device on the ground,” Chandra said narrating the incident.

Prajapat was arrested and booked under section 332 (voluntarily hurting public servant, 353 (assaulting public servant), 188 (disobeying order duly promulgated by public servant) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act. Police said further investigation in the matter was being done.