Four policemen were suspended after they assaulted a coconut seller in Kanpur for not giving him coconut water free of cost and giving a bribe of Rs 1,000 per day, police said.
The incident occurred on May 15 (Wednesday) when Chandra Kumar Prajapati, who sells coconuts, said four policemen came to him and demanded coconuts without paying him. He said the policemen had been drinking coconut water for free for about two months.
Prajapati said he refused to pay a bribe of Rs 1,000 to the policemen when they asked him. Upon his refusal, he was abused, punched and kicked by the policemen. When Prajapati tried to make a video of the incident, the policemen snatched his phone and took him to the police station, where he was tortured.
“I tried to make a video. But the policemen beat me up, kicked and punched me. They forcibly took me to their jeep while abusing me. They had threatened me with dire consequences if I did not provide coconut water for free to them,” Prajapati said.
The policemen later deleted the video from the victim’s mobile phone. They then forced Prajapati to sign on a plain paper and got a video made in which the victim said he had not given any coconuts for free to the policemen.
A Kanpur police preliminary probe found that the four policemen had assaulted the coconut seller when he refused to give them coconuts for free and pay the bribe. Following this, the policemen were suspended.
“The victim accused the four policemen of taking his coconuts and drinking coconut water without paying him. The ACP did an investigation and four policemen were suspended. A detailed investigation report will come out soon, following which further action will be taken,” additional CP Harish Chandra said.