Auto driver was booked for assaulting gurdwara sevadar in April: Police

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New Delhi, June 19

A tempo driver, who was thrashed by policemen allegedly after he attacked one of them with a sword in northwest Delhi, was booked in April for assaulting the 'sevadar' of the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, police said.

The driver, Sarabjeet Singh, had brushes with law earlier as well. He had been booked under preventive sections (107/151 CrPC ) in the years 2006, 2011 and 2013 by the Delhi Police.

While section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) pertains to apprehension of breach of peace and tranquility of an area, section 151 pertains to arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences.

In April this year, he allegedly assaulted sevadar Mangal Singh when the latter asked him why he and his son were sleeping near the 'sarovar' for the last three-four days.

Mangal Singh alleged in his complaint that when he and his colleague asked them about their whereabouts and why they were sleeping there, the driver got furious and started arguing with him.

The complainant informed the gurudwara manager about it and while they were taking the two to the gurudwara, his son tried to escape. However, he was caught and Sarabjeet Singh assaulted the complainant.

A complaint was lodged against Sarabjeet Singh at the Parliament Street Police Station.

Meanwhile, the police said that the Crime Branch would go through the videos of the Mukherjee Nagar incident .

The case had been transferred to the Crime Branch which would "independently" probe the two cross FIRs registered on the statements of the police personnel and the driver.

A senior crime branch official said they were yet to receive the files, but officials had already scanned through four-five CCTV footages of the incident.

Videos that had gone viral soon after the incident would also be scanned thoroughly to establish the exact sequence of events. Statements would be recorded of all those seen in the clips, the official said.

Some of the onlookers had been identified and they would be questioned to understand the cause of the incident. Statements of the police personnel and the tempo driver would also be taken, the official added.

The AAP's auto rickshaw wing on Tuesday urged Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to ensure safety of auto drivers and that incidents of violence like the Mukherjee Nagar one do not recur.

Meanwhile, the situation in the area continued to remain tense with the police beefing up security to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.

On Sunday evening, a brawl between the tempo driver, and policemen at northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar went viral on social media.

In one of the purported videos, the tempo driver was seen chasing the policemen with a sword following which other policemen arrived at the scene and they thrashed the driver and his son with batons while overpowering them.

The police said the altercation between took place after the tempo driver's vehicle collided with a police van.

Eight police personnel were injured in the scuffle, the police said.

Swinging into action, the Delhi Police had suspended three policemen for "unprofessional behaviour" and initiated a probe.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Manish Kumar Agarwal is separately conducting a detailed inquiry into the matter. PTI