Mukherjee Nagar incident: Was only doing my duty, says ASI Yograj

An official of the Delhi Police who was allegedly attacked with a sword by a tempo driver in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar said on Tuesday that he is hopeful that justice will be delivered. 

Assistant Sub Inspector Yograj of Mukherjee Nagar police station was severely injured in the incident that has snowballed into a major political controversy. 

"A policeman is on duty 24X7 and I had to act promptly. if someone brandishes a weapon at a police official or anyone in a public space, as a police officer, it was my duty to act," he said.  

On Sunday evening, a brawl between Sarabjeet Singh, the tempo driver, and policemen at Mukherjee Nagar went viral on social media. In one of the purported videos, the tempo driver was seen chasing the policemen with a sword. In another video, the police officers were seen thrashing the driver and his son with batons. The police said the altercation took place after the tempo driver's vehicle collided with a police van. Eight police personnel were injured in the scuffle. 

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Yograj, who is in charge of deploying officials for cases, believes that justice will be delivered to him. He said he tried to grab the tempo driver from behind as the latter started charging at other policemen. However, just when the official managed to control the driver, the latter's son came and started slapping Yograj. The ASI, however, maintained that the situation could have been handled in a more professional manner. Swinging into action, the Delhi Police suspended three policemen for "unprofessional behaviour" and initiated a probe into the incident. 

The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal should take strict action against the police personnel who allegedly assaulted the driver. His Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh termed the incident "shameful". The Congress and the BJP have demanded a fair probe into the incident with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) seeking dismissal of the officers.  Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik onTuesday met the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and submitted a report into the matter.

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