MULUGU: Adilabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaush Alam, deployed on duty at the Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara in Medaram, allegedly slapped Armed Reserve Sub-Inspector (ARSI) B Ravi Kumar, asked him to kneel down, and verbally abused him on Friday night. Ravi Kumar, who was on-duty at the time of the incident, reportedly went with his family to offer jaggery to the deities through the main entrance gate, albeit in the wrong direction. In another similar incident, SP Gaush Alam, along with an IPS officer, allegedly abused Forest Beat Officer (FBO) B Srinivas for abandoning his duty and accompanying his wife to offer prayers.
According to sources, ARSI Ravi Kumar, stationed in the Warangal police commissionerate, was assigned as in-charge of the rope party for the Jatara. Ravi’s family had visited Medaram on Friday night. Reportedly, when he permitted his family to enter the main entrance gate from the opposite direction, SP Gaush Alam noticed it and obstructed their entry. The SP then confronted SI Ravi about his departure from duty and leading his family members towards the pedestal (Gadde) in the wrong direction. Ravi explained that he intended to offer jaggery to the deities with his family. Allegedly, the SP then slapped the ARSI and insulted him. Furthermore, as a form of punishment, the SP instructed Ravi to kneel down in front of his family members and continued to hurl abuses.
Upon learning about the incident, some on-duty police officers attempted to protest at the scene. However, officials managed to disperse them.
When TNIE contacted Mulugu District Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr P Shabarish, he refuted the circulated information about the incident as false. “SP Gaush Alam did not slap the ARSI, he merely counselled him and left the scene. We asked other on-duty officers about the incident, and they too confirmed the same,” SP Shabarish said. TNIE’s attempts to contact ARSI Ravi Kumar for comment were unsuccessful.
