New Delhi (Sputnik) — Video footage of a police officer smashing bottles of liquor in a bar in the Indian state of Maharashtra has gone viral on the internet. The incident took place last Thursday, according to reports.
The accused policeman, who holds the rank of inspector, insists he behaved as such because the bar had stayed open past prohibited hours.
Elaborating, the officer in question, police inspector Vijay Singh Pawar, said he entered the bar at around 3 am while on a night patrol and the staff refused to shutter it.
However, bar owner Madhavi Shahstrabudhe claims that she was at the receiving end of police harassment because she refused to pay the officer a 5 million rupee ($70,000 approx) bribe.
In her complaint, she said the police officer demanded this sum to stay silent about a false case of food poisoning registered against her husband. "Although we have already shelled out half a million rupees ($7000 approx) as a bribe, we cannot pay the rest of the bribe and hence they are harassing us," she alleged.
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Pawar admitted that smashing bottles was a mistake but added, "All allegations are false. There are several cases against this bar. I was maintaining law and order because the bar was open even at 3 am."
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Meanwhile, the zonal deputy commissioner of police, Sanjay Shinde, said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. "Senior police officials are conducting a probe into the allegations," he informed.