Five railway cops taken off field duty over beating of woman, her grandson in MP's Katni

Bhopal: Five cops were taken off field duty on Thursday in connection with the alleged beating of a woman and her grandson by Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh, a senior official said.

The action was taken after the state Congress a day before shared a video purportedly showing a woman GRP official beating up the woman and her minor grandson with a stick. The opposition party also claimed that the victims belong to the Dalit community.

The incident had taken place in October 2023 when the woman and the minor were summoned to the police station for questioning in connection with an absconding criminal, police said.

Earlier on Thursday, the woman in-charge of the concerned police station was "line-attached" or taken off field duty.

"Four more cops including a head constable have been line-attached....There was a person named Deepak Vanshkar against whom 19 cases are registered, and who was absconding. He was also externed from the district. His family members had been called to the police station last October for questioning only in this regard," Superintendent of Police (GRP) Simala Prasad told PTI.

"The video of the questioning went viral. Cases had also been registered against the woman and minor in Katni. All the police personnel visible in the video have been line-attached," SP Prasad added.

Besides the woman in-charge of the police station, a head constable and three constables were shunted out.

Probe was underway as to why the woman and her grandson were treated in this way and how the official footage of the incident became public, SP Prasad further said.

Deputy Inspector General, railway, Monica Shukla arrived in Katni on Thursday to conduct the probe, sources said.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari and media department chairman and former minister Mukesh Nayak too would be visiting Katni to meet the victims, a party leader said.

Security in the town was beefed up in view of Congress leaders' visit, said a police official.

The video shared by the state Congress on X showed a woman in civil dress -- in-charge of the police station -- beating up a woman and a boy in a room. Later, some other personnel in uniform were seen joining her in thrashing the duo.

"Chief Minister Mohan Yadavji, will you tell us what is happening in Madhya Pradesh? Under the pretext of maintaining law and order, your police department is indulging in hooliganism and is hell-bent on taking the lives of people," the opposition party said in the post on X.

"The cruelty with which the Katni Government Railway Police (GRP) station in-charge beat up the 15-year-old boy and his grandmother from a Dalit family is agonising. From where did they get so much courage to do so? Is it due to your negligence? Have you given them permission to indulge in such acts?" the Congress said, terming the incident as "shameful".