New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi imposed a 21-day nation lockdown to combat the spread of Coronavirus. With the country entering a total lockdown, people are following social distancing to keep COVID-19 at bay. Police officers are quite vigilant and they are taking all measures to ensure that the people remain at their homes. Despite their good intentions, reports of cops beating people on the streets have surfaced in the media.

A furniture dealer in Thane, Bhairon Lal Lohar, was brutally thrashed by Gujarat Police officers when he stepped out of his home to attend his mother’s funeral. He received the news of his mother Rukmini Devi’s death on March 25. She passed away in a village in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district. Bhairon was the only son of his mother and hence, he had to attend the funeral.

Considering it was quite difficult to step out of the house during the lockdown, Bhairon requested Shiv Sena’s Raju Shirodkar for help. Shirodkar arranged an ambulance for Bhairon and his family members so that they could go to Rajasthan. Bharion obtained the death certificate of his mother from his village through Whatsapp. He took permission from the local police to leave the city after showing the printout of the certificate. His travel went smoothly in Maharashtra without any hurdles.

Things went fine till the time he reached Gujarat-Maharashtra border. Police officials stopped him at the border and didn’t listen to his plea. He even showed the dead body of his mother through a video call as evidence. The cops got agitated and threw his mobile phone and tore apart the death certificate. They brutally thrashed Bhairon, his brother and the driver of the ambulance. Bhairon’s wife pleaded a lot but to no avail. The injury marks due to police brutality are still visible on their bodies.

Bhairon couldn’t attend his mother’s funeral and his relatives had to perform the last rites.

Report by Jitendra Dixit