NEW DELHI: Three Indian police officers were suspended Tuesday after footage emerged showing a constable attacking a female student they had accused of socialising with a Muslim man, officials said.
The video, which has been circulated widely online, shows a female constable repeatedly striking the young student — who local media report is Hindu — and berating her for allegedly conducting an interfaith relationship.
Such liaisons can be frowned upon in Hindu-majority India where Muslims make up one-fifth of the population.
Police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where the incident occurred, said that the female constable and two other police officials had been suspended pending an inquiry.
“Their conduct has led to embarrassment for the UP police,” a senior police official who did not want to be named, told AFP.
"Mullah zayada pasand aa raha hai? Hindu hote hue bhe**d Mullah ka le rahi hai" This is @Uppolice cops, abusing and assaulting girl who was already harassed by VHP goons! Via @PiyushRaiTOIpic.twitter.com/MWGgnyf2tU
— Irony Of India (@IronyOfIndia_) September 25, 2018
In recent years Hindu extremists have pushed fears of “love jihad” — claims that young Muslim men were attempting to seduce Hindu women in order to convert them.
India’s police are often criticized for their attitudes toward women, particularly when women come forward to report crimes committed against them.
