Six railway cops suspended over beating of woman, her grandson in MP's Katni after old video goes viral

The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday suspended six Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel including a station in-charge in connection with the beating of a woman and her grandson in Katni district after a video of the incident that had taken place in October last year went viral.

The opposition Congress claimed that the victims were Dalit. Targeting the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government, Congress leaders staged a sit-in protest for nearly five hours inside a police station in Katni, demanding the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused.

"The victim has filed a complaint. We have taken it in a proper manner and made an entry in the complaints register and given a receipt to the protesters. An entry was also made in the `Rojnamcha' (daily record register). It has been updated online too," Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Santosh Deharia told reporters.

Congress leaders wanted that the complaint be registered through an online process, and now it will be forwarded it to the GRP police station, the ASP added. The accused GRP personnel will record their statements before the DIG who is probing the incident and further legal action will be taken by the GRP police station, he said.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari said the incident exposed the dictatorial attitude of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav towards the Dalit community. "Six policemen were suspended and they will face problems in their jobs as we will go to the court against them. Congress is warning officials not to work as agents of the (ruling) party. They should work according to the rule book," Patwari said, claiming that the `FIR' was registered only after the Congress protested. Earlier in the day, the accused GRP personnel were "line-attached" or taken off field duty, and subsequently chief minister Yadav announced on X that he had taken cognizance of it and "as per the preliminary probe", ordered the suspension of the then GRP station in-charge, a head constable and four constables.

Station in-charge Aruna Vahne, head constable Ajay Shrivastava, constables Shoaib Abbasi, Salman Khan, Omkar Sirsam, and woman constable Varsha Dube were suspended, an official said. The Congress had on Wednesday shared a purported video of the incident on X. On Thursday, Patwari and state Congress media department chairman Mukesh Nayak visited Katni and met Kusum Vanskar, the victim woman, and her grandson. The two victims narrated, in front of reporters, how they were mercilessly beaten with sticks in the police station. Patwari asked Kusum Vanskar if she wanted an FIR registered against the cops, to which she nodded yes.

The Congress leaders then accompanied her to the police station. They staged a sit-in at the police station with Patwari averring that they will not leave until the FIR was registered. The protest continued for nearly five hours. As to the incident, Superintendent of Police (GRP) Simala Prasad told PTI that it took place in October 2023. "There was a person named Deepak Vanshkar against whom 19 cases were registered, and who was absconding. He was also externed from the district. His family members had been called to the police station last October for questioning in this regard," she said.

"The video of the questioning went viral. Cases had also been registered against the woman and minor in Katni. All the police personnel visible in the video have been line-attached (taken off field duty)," SP Prasad added. Probe was underway as to why the woman and her grandson were treated in this way and how the official footage of the incident became public, she further said. Deputy Inspector General, railway, Monica Shukla arrived in Katni on Thursday and conducted the probe into the incident, sources said.

The video showed a woman in civil dress -- in-charge of the GRP station -- beating up a woman and a boy in a room. Later, some other personnel in uniform were seen joining her in thrashing the duo. "Chief Minister Mohan Yadavji, will you tell us what is happening in Madhya Pradesh? Under the pretext of maintaining law and order, your police department is indulging in hooliganism and is hell-bent on taking the lives of people," the opposition party said in the post on X.

"The cruelty with which the Katni Government Railway Police (GRP) station in-charge beat up the 15-year-old boy and his grandmother from a Dalit family is agonising. From where did they get so much courage to do so? Is it due to your negligence? Have you given them permission to indulge in such acts?" the Congress said, terming the incident as "shameful".