A day after a video allegedly showing policemen shake hands with men who went on a rampage in Aurangabad went viral, the cops on Monday admitted to lapses in their response while handling the incident. “There were lapses in police response. We were initially short-staffed. The guilty will not be spared, no matter who they are,” said additional director general of police Bipin Bihari.
Vinayak Dhakne, deputy commissioner of police, zone 1, admitted the police were outnumbered, with around five cops for hundred rioters, until reinforcements from riot control police and state reserve police force were called in later in the night.
The violence in Aurangabad that started over action against illegal water connection at shrines claimed two lives on Friday. Police are trying to verify the authenticity of the video. HT hasn’t independently verified its authenticity. Milind Bharambe, commissioner of police, Aurangabad, said: “We are checking the video. If there is truth in what appears in the footage, those responsible will be punished.”
A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said: “The police shook hands with certain members of a community, as they asked them to help control an armed mob. The group is not seen carrying weapons. They had formed a human chain to keep rioters from entering a street.”
Laxminarayan Bakhriya, local Shiv Sena leader who was present at the site where stone-pelting was reported on Friday, said, “Three policemen got injured in the riots, after which more policemen were deployed. As they were junior officers, they asked us to help control mob from a locality near Rajabazar (which is in the heart of communal tension).”
{{/usCountry}}Laxminarayan Bakhriya, local Shiv Sena leader who was present at the site where stone-pelting was reported on Friday, said, “Three policemen got injured in the riots, after which more policemen were deployed. As they were junior officers, they asked us to help control mob from a locality near Rajabazar (which is in the heart of communal tension).”
{{/usCountry}}Additional commissioner of police Govardhan Kulekar, additional commissioner of police (crime) Rameshwar Thorath and police inspector Hemant Kadam suffered serious injuries. AIMIM MLA from the area Imtiyaz Jaleel has demanded a high-level probe into the findings of the video.
Meanwhile, the state government refused to order a probe into the allegations by the Congress and NCP that the police remained bystanders during the riots.