Shahjahanpur (UP), March 15 A group of men allegedly assaulted a grain trader, forced him to squat in a humiliating position, and made him bow down at their feet on a road in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, purportedly to deliver food to a person in police custody, police said on Sunday.
Three accused have been arrested after a purported video of the incident surfaced on social media.
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said the alleged incident occurred on March 8 in the Nahil village under the Puwayan police station area.
The victim, Umashankar Gupta, a resident of the village, lodged a complaint on Friday, alleging that four men – identified as Vivek Mishra, Manoj Mishra, Chhunne Mishra, and Vicky Mishra – assaulted him on the road, abused him, and forced him to squat.
According to the complaint, the accused also made Gupta bow down at their feet and apologize publicly.
Dwivedi said that the police arrested three accused – Vivek, Vicky, and Chhunne – on Saturday in connection with the case.
A 35-second video purportedly showing the incident has gone viral on social media.
Gupta told the police that the dispute stemmed from an altercation between some men and a family member of his farming partner, Ram Bahadur Pal, a day after Holi. He alleged that the partner's relative was detained at the police station on a complaint by the men, and that he was targeted only because he had gone to the police station to deliver food to the detained person.
The police have registered a case under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 356(2) (defamation/insult to dignity) of the BNS, Dwivedi said.