JAIPUR: In an incident reminiscent of the George Floyd murder case that has ignited huge 'Black Lives Matter' protests across the US, the police in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur was seen pinning down a man, with one of the cops kneeling on the man’s neck – exactly the way Floyd was killed.
The incident took place on Thursday when the man, identified as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat had stepped out without a mask and was caught by two police constables. This led to an argument between the two sides, which soon turned physical. Police officials say that Prajapat attacked the cops first who acted in self-defence.
Several videos of the incident have gone viral on social media where a cop can be seen kneeling on the man's neck.
However, police officials claim the man had not only turned abusive and attacked the cops but had even snatched the mobile of one of the constables. Jodhpur police authorities insist that the constable had acted purely in self-defence to prevent the man from attacking him.
After Unlock Phase 1 began from Monday, the police have been trying to enforce social distancing and wearing of masks in different areas of Jodhpur. This fracas happened in Chaupasani Housing Board locality when the police were asking people to wear masks before stepping out as has been made mandatory by the government due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Recalling the incident, Jodhpur Police Commissioner, Prafulla Kumar says, ''When Mukesh Prajapat was caught by the constables for not wearing a mask, he began slapping and hitting the policemen who had stopped him for violation of norms. Then the aggressive culprit even threatened to gouge the eyes of our cops and said he would kill them".
But Jodhpur Police Commissioner, Prafulla Kumar, says the comparison with the George Floyd case is unfair and far-fetched as the neck of the Jodhpur culprit was never pressed by the cops. "What is being shown as similar to the US case is actually the constable trying to retrieve his mobile from the culprit. There are several videos which show how Prajapat had hit our policemen but not even one where our constable is pressing his neck with his knee. If you see the entire video, it will be quite clear how the man had misbehaved and even beat our constables".
Police officials also point out that Prajapat is a habitual offender who had even attacked his own father last year and ruined his eyes. On the report of the cops from Pratap Nagar Thana an FIR has been registered and the man has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
Senior officials also say that if a policeman is thrashed while in uniform, then it is embarrassing for the entire society and there is a danger for police morale going down if 'culprits' are allowed to go scot-free through false outrage.