In Indore, a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a 35-year-old man was severely beaten on the road by two police officers for not wearing a mask properly. According to media reports, the man, named Krishna Keyer, is an auto-rickshaw driver and was on the way to the hospital to visit his father on the evening of 6 April.
Keyer’s mask had slipped down his nose, catching the attention of the cops, who stopped him and ordered him to go to the police station with them. When Keyer refused, he was beaten in the middle of a busy market road in Indore – a video of the beating has gone viral on social media. A child’s voice crying for his “papa (father)” can be heard in the background of the video.
Action has reportedly been taken against the two cops in Indore, but the details remain unclear.
Just recently, a video of Mumbai police punishing non-mask wearers with roadside squat-walks under the scorching summer sun had gone viral on social media. At the time, several people had sternly advised the cops to do what they have been directed to do – collect fines and issue warnings to people flouting COVID rules.
Videos of similar incidents of police officials physically assaulting people over being careless about coronavirus-induced restrictions have been surfacing online across India.
For instance, this clip from Azamgarh, a city in Uttar Pradesh, shows police officials forcibly pushing a civilian into their jeep for not wearing a mask.
Public opinion in India is turning against law enforcement, as such instances demonstrate how Indian cops abuse the power that comes with their Khaki uniforms.