Surat: Video of boy being beaten goes viral

TNN | Updated: Apr 21, 2020, 08:06 IST

The incident took place near Saptashrungi Mata Temple

SURAT: A video of a police officer of State Reserve Police (SRP) hitting a teenage boy with a stick at Pandesara area of the city has gone viral on social media on Monday. The thrashing of the boy by the policeman on bandodust duty during lockdown has shocked even senior police officers.
The video was shot by an onlooker near Saptashrungi Mata Temple. The cop, who is in uniform, asks the boy in yellow T-shirt to do sit-ups. Later, there is an argument between them and the cop starts hitting the boy on his leg.
The cop has been identified as Lalji Pandor, assistant sub-inspector, SRP, Rajpipla. He has been posted at Pandesara police station and was on patrol duty along with a policeman. The incident happened when the policeman accompanying Pandor went to fix puncture in his motorcycle’s tyre.
Pandor told his colleagues in Pandesara police station that the boy is a member of a group of teenagers who used to mock policemen when they were on patrolling duty in the area. "Pandor said the boys used to hurl abuses at them. When policemen used to chase them, they would disappear in the narrow lanes," said a police officer at Pandesara police station.
City police have sent a report of the incident to SRP for action against Pandor by his seniors. "It is a shocking incident. Police cannot do this to anyone. In this case, the victim is a boy and should have been handled properly,” said Vidhi Chaudhary, deputy commissioner of police, zone III.
"Since the cop is from SRP, action will be taken by his seniors. It was a shocking behaviour. So far no one has come forward to lodge a police complaint in this case. If anyone comes to police, the complaint will be registered and action taken," Chaudhary added.