Nagpur: A video of woman manhandled by female constables inside a police station went viral on Monday. The video was from Lakadganj police Station and dates back to March 25, 2020. While the woman, an advocate by profession and an RTI activist, Ankita Kamlesh Shah has levelled up allegations of harassment and thrashing against Lakadganj cops while Senior Police Inspector, Lakadganj, Narendra Hiware defended the police action, saying that the woman was illegally filming inside the police station and in the process of asking her to stop she was manhandled by female cops.
“I had went to report an issue of animal abuse on March 25, 2020. However, senior PI Hiware who was upset due to my RTI work in Public Interest grabbed this opportunity to silence me. I was harassed, beaten and illegally detained around 8 pm to 11.30 pm on his orders,” alleged Adv Shah.
“I received this footage after a long RTI battle on October 2, 2020. No action has been taken against police officers despite my several complaints to higher authorities,” she lamented.
“Social distancing was not followed during lockdown and PI Hiware in the video is without mask. Such public servants shall be immediately suspended who act high-handedly, themselves violating a law. They knew I am an advocate though they behaved in such a manner,” she contended.
Speaking to Nagpur Today, Senior PI Hiware said, “Adv Shah along with her husband had approached us with an animal abuse complaint. As the husband wasn’t wearing a mask one of our official had asked him to cover his face owing to novel Corona Virus outbreak. However, irked over which the duo picked up quarrel with our staff and started filming inside the police station, which is a violation under Section 353 of the IPC. In the process of asking her to stop filming our female officials manhandled her,” the PI clarified.
