Vendor thrashed, tonsured & paraded; one accused held

KANPUR: A vegetable vendor was brutally thrashed, his head shaved, his face blackened and then paraded wearing a footwear garland though Randhirpur village in Mangalpur police area of Kanpur Dehat district on Friday allegedly by a local and his four aides.
The incident came to light when a video of the shocking incident went viral on social media on Sunday.
Arvind Kumar, a resident of Amar Singh Ka Purwa, said he ekes out his living by selling vegetables on a cart in the district.
“On Friday, I was selling vegetables in Randhirpur village, when a man, who identified himself as ‘Neta’ and his four aides thrashed me and shaved my head. Then they made me wear a garland of shoes and slippers and paraded me across the village after blackening my face when I refused to give him vegetables free of cost,” said Arvind while narrating his ordeal to reporters.
“I went to the police station to lodge a complaint, but the policemen on duty also took the case lightly. After some time, police came into action mode when someone who had made a video of the incident posted it on social media and it went viral,” he said.
The main accused Neta has been arrested and booked under relevant sections of IPC, said superintendent of police Kanpur Dehat Keshav Kumar Choudhary.
“He and a few others allegedly shaved the head of the man, blackened his face, made him wear garland made of footwear and paraded him in the village, which is extremely shocking. We are investigating the case further,” said SP.
“We have launched a search for Neta’s four other aides identified in the video that went viral on social media. We will charge them with assault and causing hurt,” said a police official privy to the investigation.