UP cop on MLA’s duty thrashes driver to ‘clear traffic’ on NH-24, suspended

BAREILLY: A constable was suspended by Shahjahanpur SSP in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly thrashing a car driver with a baton while "trying to clear traffic” on NH-24 near Baigul bridge along the border of Bareilly and Shahjahanpur districts.
The constable was apparently deployed as a gunner of Veer Vikram Singh, the BJP MLA from Shahjahanpur's Katra constituency. A purported video of the cop thrashing the driver has gone viral ever since. Bareilly DIG Rajesh Pandey then ordered a probe.
The incident took place on Tuesday when the MLA was reportedly returning home from Shahjahanpur. However, the MLA told TOI, “The individual who was thrashed by my gunner had actually blocked the highway after a truck had brushed his car. He was bullying the truck driver for compensation without caring about a patient in an ambulance stuck in the traffic jam caused by him."
When the local police and gunner Rahul Kumar requested him to clear the way for the ambulance, he misbehaved, the MLA claimed. "Since the patient was critical and was referred to a Bareilly hospital, Rahul lost his cool and thrashed the stubborn driver. The video showed my car, but didn’t show the ambulance behind it. I had shared the truth with senior cops but Rahul was still suspended,” the MLA added.
Shahjahanpur SSP S Anand told TOI, “I had asked additional SP (rural) Aparna Gautam to probe into the matter. After receiving a preliminary report, we suspended the gunner Rahul Kumar and assigned another one for the MLA.”
“This prompt action was taken to send a clear message to the department that such behaviour with people will not be tolerated under any circumstances by any official. Further action will be initiated against Rahul once the probe is complete," the SSP added.