A station house officer (SHO) charged with beating up a Dalit woman in a police station of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh lost his job on Thursday.
Principal Secretary (Home) Kunwar Fatehbahadur said the woman, Sangeeta, was taken into custody on charges of killing her husband, Deepak.
“During interrogation she confessed to her crime, still the SHO, Kailashnath Dewedi, beat her. Strict action will be taken against those who commit atrocities on common people,” he said.
The Bahujan Samaj Party, a party that champions Dalit interests, is in power in Uttar Pradesh.
The police station, located in Musafirkhana, falls under the Amethi parliamentary constituency, represented by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Sangeeta, a resident of Maniyari village in Sultanpur district located 120 km east of Lucknow, had allegedly strangled Deepak late on Tuesday night when he was sleeping.
The incident took place following a heated exchange between them earlier in the morning.
Sangeeta fled her home and later the police nabbed her on Wednesday in Gothawa village at the residence of a relative.
Dewedi called media persons to the police station and paraded Sangeeta before them. When the journalists started questioning Sangeeta, she gave statements contradicting the ones made during her interrogation.
{{/usCountry}}Dewedi called media persons to the police station and paraded Sangeeta before them. When the journalists started questioning Sangeeta, she gave statements contradicting the ones made during her interrogation.
{{/usCountry}}This angered Dewedi, who slapped Sangeeta and pulled her shawl. Before she could react, Dewedi pulled her hair and threw her to the ground.
The matter was reported in the media on Thursday, and subsequently the UP government terminated Dewedi’s service.