Palanpur: Two constables of Banaskantha local crime branch (LCB) were suspended for negligence on duty on Tuesday after their pictures consuming liquor went viral.
District superintendent of police (SP) Neeraj Badgujar said the cops had failed to inform police well in time when they were attacked by bootleggers in Nandotra village of Dantiwada taluka on April 6 when they had gone to seize stock of liquor.
According to complaint, lodged with Dantiwada police, a mob of about 21 people attacked the police constables — Rajesh Parmar and Bharat Thakor — and then forcibly made them drink liquor from the bottles and photographed them. They even threatened to make the pictures viral if the cops lodged a complaint against them. The mob later fled in a vehicle with the liquor stock which was worth Rs 1.3 lakh.
“Had they informed the police station about the attack on time, additional force would have been dispatched and such untoward event could have been averted,” Badgujar said.
Villagers alleged that after the bootleggers escaped, police are harassing innocent people. On Monday, they called upon the SP and protested against the alleged excesses on the villagers just to reach out to the bootleggers who had assaulted them.
Badgujar, however, assured that no innocent person would be harassed.
The pictures of the constables drinking liquor had gone viral. They said they were forced by bootleggers who attacked them
