ONGOLE: Prakasam Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Kaushal regretted and conveyed apology on behalf of the district police to Purini Rambabu and his son belonging to Reddypalem village of Kothapatnam Mandal who were treated inhumanly by the local police while enforcing lockdown on Friday.
With the video clip and news of police excesses going viral on social media and those coming to the notice of the SP, he immediately ordered an inquiry into the incident by the Ongole Town DSP. Later, he called the father and son to his chambers on Saturday. The SP personally received them and conveyed his regret and personally apologised for the incident. “After watching the Kothapatnam incident video on WhatsApp —the incident happened during the ongoing lockdown time —I felt very bad about it. I assure you that, strict action as per the investigation report to be submitted by the Ongole Town DSP, will be initiated against the respective police personnel without fail,” the SP told Rambabu.
In this connection, the SP created awareness among them about the present lockdown procedures, other precautionary measures to be taken to stop the spread of COVID-19. He also gave them sanitisers and masks. Speaking on this occasion, the victims expressed their happiness and said they always showed obedience to the police and would strictly follow the lockdown rules in future. They also gave a word that, they would also ask their fellow citizens to follow the lockdown rules by creating awareness among them.
The SP instructed the entire district police force to behave politely with the public and create awareness without losing temper. He warned that strict action would be taken against those police personnel who behaved rudely with the citizens.