The Ambedkar Nagar police registered a case and arrested five persons on Monday, including women, for allegedly attacking the police and a team of officials from the district administration that had gone to erect a boundary wall in Wazidpur area on Sunday, officers said.
The action was taken after a video of a male police personnel beating up women, many of whom were Dalits, using lathi in Ambedkar Nagar went viral on Sunday, sparking fresh allegations of police brutality in the Yogi Adityanath-ruled State.
The women were reportedly staging a protest on Sunday against the alleged vandalism of a Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar statue in Jalalpur town the previous day. The video also shows cops flogging and hurling abuses at the women and a woman police personnel pulling at the hair of a protester.
The police have denied the allegations. According to the police, the district administration decided to erect a boundary wall after unknown persons threw ink on a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at the spot two days ago. A few local residents who were allegedly using the land for private purposes were against erecting the wall, they added.