To cover up their negligence and charges of corruption which led to an old man committing suicide, the cops of Bareilly police reportedly tore the 'suicide' note left by the victim to get the men in uniform punished.
Agitated over the cops' conduct, the local villagers brutally thrashed them before senior officers reached the spot with more police force and rescued them.
Taking a serious note of the cops' role, the senior superintendent of police in Bareilly placed all the policemen posted at the local police outpost under suspension and ordered a probe into the matter to take further legal action against them.
A heavy police force was also deployed in the area to avert any further untoward incident.
Reports said that the minor daughter of a resident of Mau Chandrapur hamlet in Ramnagar under the Aonla police station in Bareilly eloped with a local youth. The resident contacted the policemen at Ramnagar outpost and alleged that his daughter was kidnapped by the youth and pleaded with the cops to get her freed from the clutches of the accused.
The cops, however, refused to act and allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh from the man, saying that he had to spend some money if he wanted to get his daughter back.
An upset father later ran from pillar to post to seek justice but after he failed to get any help, he mentioned his ordeal in a plain paper, holding the cops of the Ramnagar police outpost responsible for his death, and committed suicide on Sunday.
When the local policemen learnt about the incident, they reached the spot and after recovering the suicide note in which the man held them responsible for his death, tore the paper.
On learning that the cops had destroyed the suicide note, the local residents became agitated and they attacked the police team with sticks and rods, injuring two policemen seriously.
Later, senior officers who went to rescue the police team made preliminary inquiry and on finding the cops guilty, placed them under suspension.
Further probe is on in the matter and efforts are being made to recover the girl and get her statement record before a magistrate.