Auto drivers seek ‘safe environment’ after brawl at Mukherjee Nagar, writes to Delhi Police Chief

PTI, Jun 19, 2019, 9:36 AM IST

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s auto rickshaw wing on Tuesday urged Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to ensure safety of auto drivers and that incidents of violence like the one which took place in Mukherjee Nagar do not recur.

On Sunday evening, a video of a brawl between Sarabjeet Singh, a tempo driver, and policemen at northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar went viral on social media.

“We request that safe environment be provided to auto drivers. Strict action should also be taken against police officers involved in assaulting Sarabjeet,” the association wrote in the letter. In the video, an ACP-rank officer could be seen being chased by protestors outside the Mukherjee Nagar police station. He had gone there to pacify the protesters.

Three policemen, including two assistant sub-inspectors, have been suspended for their unprofessional conduct in handling the matter, police said.

Cross FIRs have been registered based on the statements of the police personnel and the tempo driver and the case was also transferred to the Crime Branch which will be probed “independently”, police said. Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Manish Kumar Agarwal is separately conducting a detailed inquiry into the matter.

In one of the purported videos, the tempo driver was seen chasing the policemen with a sword. In another video, they were seen thrashing the driver while overpowering him. Police said the altercation between the two parties took place after the tempo driver’s vehicle collided with a police van.