5 cops penalised for beating up vendor

LUCKNOW: Two cops, including a sub-inspector (S-I) , were suspended and five constables were sent to police lines on Wednesday, allegedly for beating up a roadside food stall vendor in Hazratganj’s Narhi locality for not paying them extortion money. The vendor suffered critical injuries when cops smashed his head in window glass. He was admitted to civil hospital.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajesh Pandey placed S-I Ankit Tripathi, in charge of Narhi police outpost and constable Naveen Kumar after finding them guilty in preliminary inquiry . Additional SP, East, Shivram Yadav had conducted the probe after the vendor’s family alleged the cops demanded bribe to allow the stall on roadside.

Five constables Bhagwant Singh, Harveer Singh, Shiv Kumar, Shishupal and Prem Kumar were also found guilty of assisting the S-I and were removed from the outpost. The constables have been sent to police lines till further postings.

The vendor Ravi has had a stall at Narhi intersection for the past many years. According to his family members, the S-I was continuous mounting pressure on him to pay him bribe for putting up the stall and threatened to remove his stall from the roadside.

They alleged the S-I again demanded money on Tuesday and dragged the victim to the outpost. The cops allegedly beaten him up there and smashed his head against the glass, causing him injuries in the head and chest. The S-I, however, refuted the allegations, saying the vendor himself smashed his head and got injured when asked to remove his stall as it was blocking the road. Cops said removal of the stall part of an encroachment drive in Narhi .