Musheera Ashraf, TwoCircles.net
Saharanpur: Residents of Deoband on Wednesday expressed resentment with the police entering households and for using force.
On May 8, the video of police entering the Pathanpora locality of Deoband and people shouting for help had gone viral on social media.
“The way police entered the households is not acceptable. If someone is violating the lockdown then they should be punished, not their family members,” Dr Zubair Aslam, a resident of Deoband told TwoCircles.net.
The police allegedly thrashed down the doors of the houses and when the women and children came in between the situation became critical.
When TwoCircles.net contacted SHO Deoband said that “We are looking after the case” and denied to comment further.
SSP Saharanpur Dinesh Kumar in a video statement claimed that the people who were violating the lockdown tried to attack the constables and hence FIR was lodged against them.
“The police need to learn that corona will not go away by police violence and they should not try to target a particular community taking advantage of the lockdown,” a resident of Deoband, wishing anonymity, said.
Other residents added that people are suffering due to local politics. “Neither the leaders speak nor will they let the victims raise their voice,” he said.
A neighbour of the victim said that people are already under crisis because of the lockdown. “This type of incident creates uneasiness and now we are losing trust in the police,” he said.
Imran Masood, former chairman of Saharanpur’s Municipal council called the behaviour of the police as unacceptable. “They are using lathi-danda as if people are criminals,” he adds saying this is a result of weak leadership.
A similar clash between police and people occurred in Jhotawala area of Thana Mandi, Saharanpur, which however was resolved later.