Police drag lawyer by collar, beat him on road:Clothes torn, tribal’s house demolished; advocate alleges brutality

In Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, police personnel beat up a lawyer in the middle of the road. They tore the lawyer’s clothes. They dragged him by the collar and took him to the police station. The lawyer can be seen showing documents, but the police are misbehaving with him in front of the crowd and taking him away. Some police personnel can also be heard hurling abuses. According to information, the beating occurred during administrative action taking place on tribal land. The incident happened two days ago, but its video surfaced on Thursday. In the video, three police personnel are seen running advocate Neeraj Verma on the road by holding his collar and taking him away while pushing and shoving. Lawyer had arrived to save tribal’s land According to advocate Neeraj Verma, land under tribal lease has been in the names of Shyamlal Kol, Brijlal Kol, Bablu Kol and Arjun Kol since 1980. The administration was taking action to demolish the house built on that land without proper notice. He had reached the spot to stop this action and show the land documents. Allegations of collusion with land mafia Neeraj Verma says that eviction action was taken by the Tehsildar on the concerned land, against which he has filed an appeal. The case is still pending and there had been no hearing on the stay application either. Despite this, the administration and police allegedly demolished the tribal family’s house in collusion with the land mafia. The SDM neither heard them nor provided copies of necessary documents. Argument broke out upon protest, accused of tearing clothes According to the advocate, when he protested against the action, the policemen abused him. Made personal comments. The police forcibly grabbed him and tore his clothes. His black coat and court uniform were also torn. After this, he was dragged to the police station. ‘I was treated like a terrorist’ Neeraj Verma said – I was only showing the lease land documents, so that improper action could be stopped, but I was treated like a terrorist. I felt that I would be killed. Police dismissed allegations In the matter, Saman police station in-charge Vijay Singh said – The administrative team was taking action under court orders. The lawyer was repeatedly obstructing government work. He was explained to many times, but he did not comply. To maintain law and order and to complete the government work, he was removed from the spot and taken to the police station. Tehsildar-police station in-charge could not show court order Dainik Bhaskar spoke with Tehsildar Anupam Pandey and Station In-charge Vijay Singh. When they were asked for a copy of the court order for demolishing the house, they could not show it. Also, they could not clarify under which court’s order the action was taken. Meanwhile, SDM Anurag Tiwari said in the matter – The entire case will be investigated afresh. The Tehsildar had issued an eviction order, but the Tehsildar does not have the authority to carry out eviction. The advocate was made to sit at the police station for about 6 hours. Controversy escalated after video After the video of the incident surfaced, the matter has intensified. On one hand, advocate Neeraj Verma is demanding an impartial investigation of the entire matter and action against the guilty policemen and officers, while the administration and police are claiming their action to be completely legal and as per rules.