Day after Kanpur assault video, ward boy held, SHO suspended

In a video that emerged of the incident, Puneet Shukla is seen holding the three-year-old daughter of his brother, ward boy Rajneesh Shukla, while Akbarpur SHO Vinod Kumar Mishra hits him repeatedly with a lathi. Puneet is heard saying that the child will get hurt, but the officer continues dealing blows to him.

After the video emerged, Kanpur Dehat SP Keshav Kumar Choudhary had said that “mild force was used and that in the video, the officer is only seen hitting the man below the waist.”

On Friday, Kanpur (Range) IG Prashant Kumar said, “We suspended the SHO because he showed a lack of restraint while dealing with the situation. He should have been more patient.”

Police said Rajneesh was “leading” the protesters and registered three FIRs against him for allegedly assaulting policemen, extortion and other charges.

IG Kumar said Rajneesh was sent to judicial custody on Friday after he was presented in a local court. “There have been some cases against him in the past too, where he assaulted district administration officials,” said the IG.

Meanwhile, all major Opposition parties tweeted about the video and targeted the UP government. SP president Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “A child in the lap is not spared during a lathicharge against protesting health workers. This incident is worth condemnation and shameful…”

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared video and wrote, “Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath: #1 in Human Rights Violations…”