Four police officers in India’s Punjab region have apparently been suspended after a video was released that appeared to show them beating a woman in the street.
The footage was captured on a mobile phone and features a group of police officers using large sticks and their fists to brutally assault a woman said to be returning from a wedding.
One version of the story is that that the 23-year-old woman originally approached the officers to complain of being harassed by a lorry driver, although officials insist she was in fact interfering in the arrest of her drunken father.
Despite the footage, filmed on a busy road in Taran Taran, a town near the regional capital Amritsar, the head of the local police force defended the officers.
According to New Delhi Television, Sukhbir Singh, who heads the local police station, said: “I don't think our cops did anything [wrong]... they were actually trying to intervene and stop the fight between two sides.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies