Minister’s son charged with assault, four police officers suspended

Minister’s son and his friend face assault case after allegedly beating four people

Bhopal:

The Madhya Pradesh police registered a case against the son of state minister Narendra Shivaji Patel after he was caught in a brawl in Bhopal’s Shapura area on Saturday night. Abhigyan Patel and his friends allegedly attacked a journalist, a restaurateur couple and their staff during an argument over a road accident.

After the incident, Minister Patel and his aides rushed to Shapura police station late on Saturday night. There, Abijian and his friends claimed they were tortured by police. Four police officers have since been suspended and an investigation ordered. Mr. Patel is the Minister of State for Public Health and Medical Education. It is understood that Abhigian will represent his father, a minister, at state functions.

Restaurateur Alisha Saxena said in her complaint that it all started when a car hit journalist Vivek Singh’s motorcycle. when Mr. Singh shouted at the driver of the car and asked him to drive properly. Soon, Abijian and his friend got out of the car and allegedly assaulted the reporter. Ms. Saxena intervened and Abhigyan allegedly beat her with a stick. She said her husband and an employee were beaten when they rushed to save her.

The police have opened a case for investigation under sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

Acting on a complaint filed by the minister’s son, police responded to the Saxena family and others, accusing them of assault.

Senior police officer Mayur Khandelwal said medical examinations of those involved have been conducted and further investigation is underway. Regarding the suspended police officers, he said an investigation was ongoing and further steps would be taken based on the findings.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari slammed the state government over the incident. “This is anarchy. The police did not register an FIR on the journalist’s complaint of attack. The woman received six stitches on her head and Section 307 (attempt to murder) should be invoked. The SSP was not even aware that four policemen had been arrested.” “While suspended, this is the headline in the newspapers. It has become the policy of this government to lower police morale and support crime,” he told news agency ANI.

Addressing Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, he said, “You appear helpless when your minister’s family members are terrorizing people. Please take such action to give people confidence in the law.”