A sub-inspector in Prayagraj was suspended on Friday after he drove his SUV over vegetables laid out by farmers for sale at a rural market.
SSP Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj called the act “highly condemnable”, as he announced the suspension of Sumit Anand.
A video clip of the incident, which occurred at Ghoorpur, was widely shared on social media. In it, the SUV, which was later found to be driven by the SI himself, was seen crushing the vegetables, as some farmers tried to look for cover. The losses suffered by the farmers was being calculated and attempts were made to compensate them, Mr. Pankaj said. So far, 11 farmers were compensated; the others were being identified, he said later in the day.
The suspended SI admitted that he made a “mistake in haste”, but said he reacted in panic as the crowd had surrounded his vehicle. He said he had gone to the mandi to implement a government direction not to hold the weekly market. Moreover, the farmers at the mandi were not adhering to physical distancing norms. After making the announcement, he left the place, but when he returned he found the crowd still present, he said.
“People hooted and surrounded the car. I panicked and thought of saving myself. I pulled the car back as there was a crowd in front. I saw some ground to the left and turned the car towards it. While doing so, some vegetable stalls got crushed,” he said.
Over 100-150 farmers had laid out stalls at the mandi, he said.
The SSP said he would write to the government for recovering the losses from the salary of the SI and transfer him out of the district.