Police Face Flak For Stranding Family At Night
SI Chander, who was enraged by seeing him riding the bike without stopping, managed to catch them and made the family spend the night in the forest.
WARANGAL: In a shocking incident on Monday night, a family — including two children — was allegedly left stranded by police in a remote area under the Wardhannapet police limits in Warangal district.
Balakrishna, a resident of Ramavaram, was travelling with his wife and children on a motorcycle when a police team, led by sub-inspector B. Chander, conducting drunk-driving checks stopped them at the village outskirts. Reportedly frightened at seeing the police, Balakrishna tried to speed away.
SI Chander, who was enraged by seeing him riding the bike without stopping, managed to catch them and made the family spend the night in the forest.
A video of Balakrishna’s wife explaining their ordeal surfaced on social media and quickly went viral. In the video, she alleged that the police slapped her husband in front of their children, confiscated their vehicle and left the family to spend the night in the dark.
She said they pleaded with the police to let him go, considering the presence of their children, but the SI allegedly did not listen and took her husband to the station. “We spent the night weeping and pleading. I asked the SI to let my husband go, looking at the children’s faces. But he took him away,” she stated in the video.
Responding to the allegations, Chander told Deccan Chronicle that Balakrishna was riding the bike under the influence of alcohol. “When we tried to stop him, he sped past and caused an injury to my leg. He also abused the police for asking him not to drive the vehicle with his wife and children late at night in such a situation,” he said.
The SI denied the allegations of assault and of leaving the family in a forested area. “There is no forest in that location. We were checking vehicles at the village outskirts where several autos and other vehicles were available. They could have hired one to return home. The claims are an attempt to defame the police,” he said.
The incident got the public attention after the video went viral, with many demanding a fair investigation into the conduct of the police personnel involved.
