MULUGU: In yet another case of police brutality, a youngster was beaten up by the Eturnagaram SI and his group of constables for allegedly not wearing a face mask, on May 10.
The incident came to light on Saturday after the youth tweeted about it.
The victim has been identified as Radeni Venu, a resident of Ramannagudem village at Eturnagaram mandal in Mulugu district.
A BPharm graduate who is currently working in a private company in Hyderabad, Venu returned to native village recently after he developed some health problems.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Radeni Venu said that the incident happened while he was sitting on his farmland, alone, to take care of his chilli crop.
“It is true that I was not wearing a face mask at that time, only because I was alone in the field. In the meantime, two persons, who introduced themselves as local police constables, came up to me and questioned as to why I was not wearing a mask. They were not in their uniforms. Without even waiting for my reply, they started clicking my photos. When I asked why they are clicking my pictures without any reason, they said that I have to pay fine for not wearing a mask. Hearing this, I countered them saying that I was alone in the field. Meanwhile, they asked me to show my Aadhaar card. However, I denied this since I was not sure if they were real cops, since they were in civil dress. In the meantime, they phoned someone and explained the scene. Local SI Srikanth Reddy immediately reached the spot and, without even asking any questions, started beating me up with a plastic pipe,” Venu said. He was later shifted to the police station, where his mobile phone was snatched away.
“They released me only the next day,” Venu added.
Venu further alleged that the SI made him record a video statement wherein he was threatened to say that the cops didn’t even touch him. They also made me sign a written statement to this regard, the victim added.
When The New Indian Express contacted Eturnagaram ASP Gaush Alam, he stated that this was a false allegation.
“The said person was booked on May 10 for not following Covid norms and not cooperating with the police,” he added.
Meanwhile, though Venu has tagged TRS working president KT Rama Rao and the DGP M Mahender Reddy, they have not responded to it yet.