A video depicting some policemen pinning a man down on the ground and one of them kneeling on his neck in Rajasthan's Jodhpur town has gone viral on social media. Police claimed that the man was roaming around without a face mask and had turned violent when confronted by them.
The man, identified as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat, 38, allegedly attacked the policemen when they stopped him in the city’s Chopasni Housing Board area on Thursday and questioned him for not wearing a mask. The government has made it mandatory for citizens to wear a mask at public places during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When some constables initiated the process for charging him a fine, Prajapat allegedly attacked them and tore their uniform. A video of the incident shot by some passersby shows one of the policemen kneeling on Prajapat's neck for a few seconds and others holding his legs.
Dev Nagar police station's SHO Somkaran Charan told The Hindu that a criminal case was registered against Prajapat and he was produced in the court. The court remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days on Friday.
Prajapat is said to be mentally challenged and his father had filed a case against him last year alleging that his son had gouged his eye. A chargesheet has since been filed in the court in connection with that case.
According to eyewitnesses, the police had sent out a call for a control room van for taking Prajapat to police station, but the accused started slapping and punching them. A huge crowd gathered at the spot when the scuffle broke out.
Some social media users compared the Jodhpur incident with the recent incident in Minneapolis, U.S., where a 46-year African American, George Floyd, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was pinned on the floor. The incident sparked massive outrage and led to widespread protests across the U.S.
