A video of two policemen in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district dragging, kicking and beating a motorcyclist is doing the rounds on social media, NDTV reported on Friday. The man was assaulted even as a child, who was identified as his nephew, looked on. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

The policemen – Sub-Inspector Virendra Mishra and Head Constable Mahendra Prasad – have been suspended and a departmental investigation has been initiated against them. Though it is not clear why they assaulted the man, identified as Rinku Pandey, reports suggested an argument started when they asked him for documents.

In the video, one of the policemen was seen sitting on Pandey to prevent him from moving while the other kept thrashing and kicking him. Pandey was heard repeatedly pleading with the officers to stop.

“If it is my fault, you can lock me up in jail,” Pandey was heard telling the policemen in the video. The officials refused to let him and were seen attempting to snatch his motorcycle’s keys after he refused to hand them over.

Superintendent of Police Dharamveer Singh said Mishra and Prasad were called to police line for the grave misconduct. He claimed Pandey might have been drunk, and added that the behaviour of the officers was disgraceful.

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