Cops refute brutality on criminals

JEYPORE: THE Koraput SP KV Singh on Tuesday called for an inquiry into the alleged assault of ganja smugglers by two  policemen in Boipariguda.

A video of policemen hitting the smugglers - Santosh Singh and Satish Singh of Uttar Pradesh (UP) - had gone viral on  Monday. Four persons were smuggling 58 kg of ganja in a car from Malkangiri to UP via Koraput when police  intercepted them near Doraguda village under Boipariguda limits. Two of them fled and another was trying to flee  when police caught him near the village street and allegedly assaulted him. This was captured by some locals who  released the video on social media and accused the cops of brutality. Subsequently, the SP directed SDPO Sagarika  Nath to inquire.

During inquiry, Nath found out that villagers had detained four smugglers who had halted in the village. However, the  smugglers started attacking villagers and one of them also took out a revolver to threaten them. When police reached the spot, the accused tried to flee and one among them also attacked a cop. While two escaped, policemen caught hold of the remaining two including the one who attacked the cop and beat him up. 

The SDPO said accusation of police brutality is false as the two cops had to take immediate action against the smugglers during that situation. Nath alleged that some people with vested interests are trying spread false allegations against police.