An IPS officer who came under fire after her alleged remarks against Dalits went viral on social media was posted as Sub Divisional Police Officer in Sindhudurg district last month while the inquiry into the alleged incident was still going on.
Soon after the incident came to light last December, Bhagyashree Navtake was transferred from Majalgaon Sub Division in Beed to the Aurangabad intelligence department, as per a report in the Indian Express. The state had also sought an inquiry against her. Inspector General (Nashik range) Cherring Dorje had been tasked with checking the veracity of the video and the claims made in it.
In the video which went viral on Twitter, a woman believed to be Navtake is seen in a black shirt and blue jeans sitting on a chair talking to a Maratha man who had been arrested. "How many times were you hit? Three to four slashes on the back. Do you know how we hit Dalits? We tie their hands and legs and then thrash them. We have vented all our anger over the Atrocities Act on them," she is seen saying in the five-minute video clip.
The clip was shared by Shruti Sharma Menon, National Executive Member, Aam Aadmi Party.
Senior police officers are investigating the authenticity of the video and whether Navtake's remarks were taken out of context. Sometimes officers have to pretend to be in favour of a community to get their confidence and defuse the situation, the report said.