Police Allegedly Hammered Nails Into Man's Body For Not Wearing Mask

If an Indian woman is to be believed, police in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh showed their brutal side by hammering nails into the hand and feet of her son who was not wearing a face mask amid the pandemic.

The woman also alleged that three police officials beat her son with sticks. The incident took place on May 24 in Baradari area of Bareilly, reported India Today.

The woman said that when she reached the local police station, she was told that her son has been taken to a different location. After searching for hours, the man was reportedly found injured with his hand and feet nailed. "My son is a ragpicker and was returning from work when the cops stopped him for not wearing mask. They beat him up with sticks and nailed his hand and feet. His ear too is bleeding," she said.

The woman also alleged that when she went to the police station and complained about the way her son was treated, police threatened to arrest him. On Wednesday, she wrote a letter requesting senior police officials to help her.

"The man is an old accused who has been booked in several cases in different police stations. He is leveling these allegations against the police to escape charges. His allegations have found to be incorrect," SSP Rohit Sajwan said. "He did all this drama to save himself from the police. The charges leveled by him were not found to be true in the probe," he added. In fact, police said that the injuries were "self-inflicted".

The SSP said an FIR was registered against the man on May 24 for misbehaving with a police constable who had asked him not to step out without a mask. "The accused was absconding after the incident and police were searching for him," the SSP said.

But the man has denied these allegations. "I was not wearing mask but had one in my pocket. The cops stopped me and started beating me up. When I told them I have a mask in my pocket, they started abusing me. They then called three to four people and started beating me again," he alleged.

Then the cops allegedly took him to the local police post and hit him again.

"They tied my hands and nailed my hand and feet. I can't even properly hear from my left ear as it is bleeding. The cop who nailed me lives in our locality, but I don't know his name. I can recognise him. They have now slapped eight cases against me," he said.

Indian police seem to have creative ways to punish those who step out without a mask. In March, a video of five men being paraded by the Mumbai Police at Marine Drive was trending on social media. In the video, the men were made to squat and walk at Marine Drive promenade for not wearing face masks.

Business tycoon Anand Mahindra was one of those who shared the video on Twitter.