Anti-CAA Stir: Four Jabalpur Officers Transferred after Video Shows Cops Vandalising Property

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh Police headquarters on Friday issued orders of transfer of four Jabalpur police officials after a video showing some city policemen vandalising public property during anti-Citizenship law protests surfaced on social media. The city witnessed violence on December 20 as anti-CAA protests took unprecedented turns.

The video, which had earlier been attributed to the Uttar Pradesh Police had emerged as a bone of contention between the police departments of the two states. The MP Police had on Thursday, said that they will ascertain the veracity of the video would be and if found guilty, the policemen in question would be punished.

Those who faced the music included Jabalpur Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi and City Superintendent of Police (Gohalpur) Devesh Kumar Pathak. As per the PHQ orders, both the officers have been posted as AIG with the headquarters in Bhopal.

Besides, two inspector rank officers - Pravin Dhurve and Sanjay Singh Hindolia - were also attached to the headquarters.

Though none of senior police officers have been linked to the video but sources in PHQ claimed that the senior brass had to crack the whip after the tweet from UP police linked the act of unruly vandalism by cops in anti-riot gear to Jabalpur Police.

The Superintendent of Police, Jabalpur, Amit Singh had on Thursday expressed his displeasure over the UP police's move to go public with the tweet instead of raising the issue with the MP police.

“We also have eight such videos allegedly linked to UP police but we never took to Twitter,” the senior officer had told News18 while affirming that a probe would be ordered into this and the guilty would be punished.

Sources in Jabalpur claimed that the locals recognised the place in the video and approached public representatives with the demand of action against the ‘unruly cops’. Under pressure, the PHQ issued transfer orders of the senior officers on Friday.

Sources also claimed that action is likely against low rung police staff once identification is done.

On December 20, curfew was imposed in Gohalpur, Hanumantal, Kotwali and Adhartal areas of Jabalpur city after miscreants pelted stones, clashed with the police, and destroyed property during an anti-CAA protest. The administration had clamped curfew to take things under control later on.

(Inputs from Prateek Mohan Awasthi, Jabalpur)