Amid brutality row, new video shows Chennai cop hitting student, boy defends him

India Today

a day ago

After the video of a policeman assaulting a boy inside a police station in Chennai was widely circulated on social media, another visual of the boy has surfaced where he is seen defending the officer.The earlier footage of the assault shows the officer pulling the boy by his hair and hitting him with what appears to be a plastic pipe, resembling a fibre optic cable cover. The incident reportedly took place a year ago inside a police station, though the clip began circulating on social media only recently.advertisementIn an unexpected turn, the policeman, identified as Hari, released another video where the boy is seen speaking on camera, saying: 'This happened a year ago. Now I'm going to work. I know him well ... more than a year. I don't drink anymore. He saved me twice while I was to be taken under remand. He only helped me as I was studying and I only had my mother.'
The video surfaced just days after the custodial death of 27-year-old Ajith Kumar in Sivagangai district, which has sparked outrage over police brutality in Tamil Nadu. Ajith's post-mortem report revealed 44 injuries, including chilli powder applied to his back, mouth, and ears. The Madras High Court called his death a 'brutal act' and criticised the police, saying 'the state has killed its own citizen.' A video of Ajith Kumar being beaten using a stick also came to light amid the controversy.advertisementThe policeman hitting the boy is the third such incident captured on camera as another case of police assault, in Theni district, came to light after a lawyer obtained CCTV footage through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. That video, from January this year, shows police beating Ramesh, an autorickshaw driver, inside the Devanathanpatti police station. Ramesh had been detained for allegedly causing a public nuisance while drunk.Lawyer Pandiarajan, who released the Theni footage, said he did so to highlight how police brutality continues to be a recurring problem in Tamil Nadu.- EndsMust Watch
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