Maha: Videos of attacks on cops emerge; minister assures action

Videos of some policemen being attacked, apparently while trying to enforce the coronavirus-induced lockdown, emerged on Saturday (May 2), prompting the Maharashtra government to assure that attackers will be arrested immediately.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Shambhuraj Desai said that some people had attacked police personnel at three to four places in Mumbai. He said that attacks on policemen, who are at the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 along with doctors, nurses and sanitation workers, will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The minister said he had already spoken to Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh on the issue and asked the latter to take action immediately. “Our police were asking the people there to follow the lockdown rules. But some people attacked our police staff at three to four places in Mumbai,” Desai told ABP Majha news channel.

He said the police have the footage of the incidents and that the attackers have been identified. “I have told him (the police commissioner) that attacks on police should not be tolerated under any circumstances. I want to assure that those who have been identified will be arrested immediately. They will be traced. Action will be taken as per the law,” he added.

The exact date and place of the videos cannot be known immediately. Desai also said while a majority of people have obliged the appeal to stay indoors and maintain the lockdown norms, but certain elements are attacking police personnel.