Mob thrashes police officer for helping 'killer' driver

Assistant Sub-Inspector Nirjit Singh was tied to a pole and thrashed after the mob accused him of helping the driver escape.

Source: The Tribune

Irate residents of Batala in Punjab manhandled a police officer and tied him to a pole after a tractor-trailer ran over a 17-year-old boy, leaving him dead. The residents alleged that the cop had helped the driver flee.

Eyewitnesses said tractor driver was driving on the wrong side of the road and failed to notice the motorbike. The victim, who was crushed under the rear wheels, died instantly.

A huge crowd gathered at the accident site and placed the driver under citizen’s arrest.

Police officer Nirjit Singh arrived to attend the incident. As he tried to pacify the furious crowd, the tractor driver quietly slipped away. The incensed mob accused the police officer of helping the driver flee and began beating him up.

The police officer was tied to a pole and blows were rained on him, even as his colleagues pleaded for him to be spared.

The mob relented only after senior police officers arrived at the scene. The police officer was taken to the hospital for treatment to the injuries he suffered due to the thrashing by the mob.

The senior superintendent of Police, Batala said a probe had been marked. “If found guilty of misconduct, the ASI will be proceeded against. If not, action will be taken against the villagers who dared to take the law into their hands,” he said.