The altercation happened inside the Barra police station.
A video clip of a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader threatening a police officer in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur is being widely shared on social media. Arpit Yadav, a councilor from SP, can be seen threatening a police officer saying "tum jhanda nochoge, hum billa nochenge (If you tear down our party flag, we will yank off your badge). SP activists were protesting the inauguration of the BJP's Kanpur-Bundelkhand regional party office in the state and a banner put up at the site by Mr Yadav was allegedly torn down by Inspector Pavan Mishra of the Barra police station. The SP activists say that land was acquired from the Naubasta Maurang Mandi for the construction of a hospital to serve people from the southern part of the state, but a BJP office was built there instead.
The altercation happened inside the police station, Mr Yadav and his supporters can be seen warning the police officer, while other police personnel and party members intervene and deescalate the heated exchange. "Go find out who I am," Mr Yadav can be heard saying.
BJP national president JP Nadda and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were scheduled to inaugurate the regional office. Mr Yadav, Kanpur Rural district president of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha, was taken into custody and an FIR has been registered against him. He has been charged under Sections 147 (rioting) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty) of the Indian Penal Code.