Ghaziabad: Two constables were suspended on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a restaurant owner in Muradnagar who had reportedly refused them lassi nearly two months ago.
The constables, Girish Yadav and Vineet Malik, thrashed Naveen Agarwal, who owns a restaurant alongside NH-58, at 11 pm on Tuesday. The duo also thrashed a waiter who works at the restaurant. The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the restaurant premises and the footage was handed over to the police by Agarwal.
“Both constables have been suspended from duty with immediate effect. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Circle officer of Muradnagar Asish Srivastava has been asked to conduct a detailed inquiry,” Ghaziabad SSP Deepak Kumar told TOI.
The CCTV footage, captured from several angles, shows both constables getting down from a PCR van at night. They first thrash the waiter outside the restaurant without any provocation. A couple of minutes later they are seen entering the restaurant where they drag out Agarwal who was sitting at the counter and thrash him too without any provocation.
No case had been registered in the matter till late. The police suspect the incident could have taken place due to an feud between the constables and Agarwal. Agarwal told police that the constables had picked up a quarrel with him at his restaurant nearly two months ago.
“The cops had arrived at the restaurant two months ago and had two glasses of lassi for which they did not pay. They demanded for more glasses of lassi. But I did not have any more in stock. They left my restaurant warning me of dire consequences and told me that they will teach me a lesson very soon,” Agarwal told police.
However, one of the accused constables told TOI that Agarwal served alcohol in the restaurant and also allowed gambling within its premises. “We have been suspended because we thrashed the men. But gambling and serving of alcohol were common in the restaurant. On Tuesday, a case had been registered against Agarwal under Section 34 of IPC on the basis of my investigations,” Girish Yadav said.
