After a video of a policeman publicly thrashing a youth in the district went viral on social media, the guilty cop was suspended by the Boudh SP on Thursday. In the video, a cop in a plainclothes can be seen thrashing a youth with a thick plastic pipe in the presence of other uniformed police personnel. The suspended cop was identified as Constable Ranjan Mohapatra, posted at the Reserve Police Office here.
Sources said a youth identified as Biswajit Chaulia Nilakanthapada village under the Athamallik police station was allegedly harassing a girl for the last few days. Following complaints, Ranjan confronted the youth, abused and severely thrashed him with a plastic pipe. While Ranjan was assaulting Biswajit, the former’s colleagues remained mute spectators. Soon after the video went viral on social media, locals started condemning the police excess. Later, the Boudh SP began an inquiry into the incident and suspended the cop.