Scuffle at police station after accident, video triggers row

Hyderabad: A video showing a sub-inspector from Bijinapally police station, clad in a vest and allegedly manhandling a person while hurling abuses at a group of locals, went viral on social media on Tuesday. The video shows Bijinapally SI Srinivas, along with a few other policemen in uniform, aggressively confronting a group of people who were demanding that a car driver be subjected to a breath analyser test. The incident followed a road accident on Monday night in which a car hit an autorickshaw from the rear, causing it to overturn. Locals from Lattupally village gathered at the spot, shifted the injured to a hospital and alerted the police. The car driver was taken to the police station. At the station, a group of youngsters from the village insisted that the driver be immediately subjected to a breathalyser test. Police personnel reportedly told them that the test would be conducted later. This led to an argument, with the group demanding that the test be done without delay. Police said that sub-inspector Srinivas, who resides in nearby quarters, came to the station on learning about the disturbance. He was reportedly not in uniform at the time. The situation escalated, resulting in a confrontation between the police and the protesters, during which the locals were allegedly roughed up. However, senior police officials in Nagarkurnool district denied allegations of police misconduct and said misinformation was being spread by the protesters."The accident took place because the car's tyre got deflated and there was no negligence of the car driver. After the driver was brought to police station, our staff made him undergo the test and found that he was not drunk. Since he too was injured, on the request of the car driver, our staff were shifting him to hospital which was opposed by the group of persons," Nagarkurnool district superintendent of police Sangram Singh Patil told TOI. Police further stated that the protesters later went to the residential quarters, forcing the sub-inspector to intervene after they allegedly attempted to physically attack police personnel. During the commotion, one of the protesters recorded the video, which later went viral. A criminal case has been registered against the group of men for allegedly misbehaving with the police during the face-off.