- Video showed policemen dragging an IAF airman in Kanpur at night on February 19
- IAF airman Nitish Kumar was stopped, beaten, and taken to police lockup by four officers
- Kanpur Police launched an investigation after the viral video surfaced on social media
It started as a viral video on social media. The video showed some policemen dragging a man on a road at night. They forced him into a waiting vehicle and drove away. Eventually, the video reached the police in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur. It jolted them into action after they got to know the individual in the viral video served in the Indian Air Force (IAF), and the assault left his eardrum ruptured.
The policemen allegedly stopped the IAF airman, Nitish Kumar, who had been walking home from a wedding at 11.30 pm on February 19, his mother, Rekha Sachan, said in a complaint.
The policemen took Kumar to a lockup and allegedly thrashed him there. Then they issued a challan against the IAF airman on the grounds of "disturbing peace", the complaint said.
The Kanpur Police ordered an investigation immediately the moment the viral video reached them.
The IAF airman's mother in the police complaint said he served in Gujarat's Jamnagar Air Force Station, and came home on leave to attend a wedding. Policemen Ravindra Singh Bundela and Pradeep Kumar, who had been patrolling in an SUV, stopped the IAF airman on a road that he took to go home from the wedding venue.
The complaint said Nitish Kumar introduced himself as a soldier, but without any reason one of the policemen allegedly grabbed his collar and dragged him. The IAF airman took out his mobile phone to record the incident, but could not do so after the policemen snatched the device from him.
The complaint alleged the two policemen along with two other constables kicked and punched Nitish Kumar inside the police station lockup. This led to injuries on his face and a ruptured eardrum.
His mother alleged the police conducted a medical test on Nitish Kumar. The doctors found the injuries serious and referred him to a bigger hospital, but the police refused to take him there.
The family then took the IAF airman to the 7 Air Force Hospital in Kanpur, where he is still being treated.
Senior Officer Defends Police
Senior police officer Deependra Nath Chaudhary defended the policemen involved in the alleged attack. He said that during patrolling on February 19 night, the policemen found a man walking on the road alone. They asked for his identity card, but he refused to show it.
The police said he then behaved badly with the policemen, after which the police filed a case against him for "criminal breach of peace".
