It is not uncommon to hear about politicians and well-connected individuals getting away with almost anything in India. But in a heartening exception that has come to light, a woman police officer stood her ground in Bullandshahr, Uttar Pradesh as agitated BJP workers attempted to get another out of a challan.
In a video that has gone viral, Shreshtha Thakur, the Circle Officer, can be seen arguing with BJP workers as they argue about Pramod Lodhi, a district-level BJP worker, being slapped with a challan for not having the proper documentation for his motorcycle.
According to Alok Pandey's report for NDTV, the incident took place on Friday afternoon. Pramod Lodhi allegedly misbehaved with Shreshtha and other police officers, following which he was arrested and then produced before a court. At another point in the video, another BJP worker alleges that the police slapped Lodhi 15 times.
BJP workers gathered and confronted Shreshtha outside the court. In the video, the crowd surrounds them, with many bystanders recording the exchange. Shreshtha stands her ground unperturbed, even smirking a little, even as other BJP workers start raising slogans in protest. Once they stop, she tells them, "You go to the CM's office and get a written order that the police shouldn't check your vehicles…that this is not our job."
Shreshtha even says that she will book the workers under additional sections of the IPC for creating public nuisance.
The BJP worker arguing with her alleges that Lodhi had been asked for a bribe of Rs 2,000 and was arrested when he refused to pay it. Shreshtha counters him, saying that they checked the vehicles and documentation of thousands of people the same day and none of them faced an issue.
"We don't leave our families in the night for fun. We do our duty," she tells the BJP workers.
Shreshtha also tells the BJP workers that if they continue behaving like this they would come to be called 'BJP goondas' and bring a bad name to the party.