In an attempt to justify its protest against the Delhi Police earlier this week, the Aam Aadmi Party headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejeiwal today released a video on its Facebook page that shows three men in uniform mercilessly beating a man before taking the money in his wallet.
The video has gone viral with over 32,000 views. The three policemen seen in the video were suspended this evening by police commissioner BS Bassi.
The party flagged the video on Facebook with a message that asked union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde whether the cops in the video would be punished.
For 33 hours, Mr Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, held a sit-in this week in the heart of the capital that targeted both Mr Shinde and the city's police force, which AAP describes as "compromised."
The AAP said the video was shot by a "vigilante" near Delhi's Red Fort on January 12. It shows three uniformed men beating a man with a stick, pulling out his wallet and taking money from it. The police claim the man was a pick-pocket.
"Delhi police is known to be brutal. Every now and then we hear of stories about Delhi police's brutality. Here is another such video. Not only does the video clearly show Delhi police's inhuman behaviour but also the urban legend of police extorting money is caught on camera," AAP said in its message.
Mr Kejriwal defied a police ban to hold his protest in the high-security heart of the city this week, triggering a wash of criticism. He wanted action taken against five policemen who he accused of negligence; some of them refused to make arrests without warrants, as controversially ordered by Law Minister Somnath Bharti. AAP also wants the Delhi police to report to the state government instead of the union Home Ministry.