Farmer Leaders Allege Brutal Assault Meerut Ssp Sog Office Adg Orders Probe

Two farmer leaders in Meerut have alleged they were brutally assaulted at the Senior Superintendent of Police’s (SSP) office and later at the Special Operations Group (SOG) office, prompting the Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Meerut zone, to order an inquiry into the incident. One of the two, Digvijay Bhati, had been arrested last month following a protest over the death of a Dalit woman. Bhati is the president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BR Ambedkar), while the other leader, Mohit Jatav, is the union’s Meerut district president. The allegations surfaced a day after Meerut SSP Avinash Pandey was transferred and attached to the DGP headquarters in Lucknow, part of routine transfers involving 9 officers. Pandey did not respond to calls seeking comment. ADG Bhanu Bhaskar said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Saharanpur Range, Abhishek Singh, has been directed to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident. Bhaskar said the matter was brought to the notice of the DIG, Meerut, on August 19 following an altercation over an issue at the Meerut SSP’s office. He said tensions between the two sides escalated after the dispute, and violence was allegedly used. He said once the inquiry is completed and the report submitted, further action will be taken on the basis of its findings. ‘Called to SSP's office, assaulted for 90 minutes’ According to Bhati, he and Jatav had been trying to meet the SSP for the past few days after the Bhawanpur police in Meerut opened a history sheet against Jatav. “We were asked to come to the SSP’s office on Wednesday morning,” said Bhati. “But when we got there, SSP Avinash Pandey started abusing us, saying we had created a nuisance for him. When I objected, policemen present there forcibly dragged me inside, where I was beaten with shoes, fists and kicked for nearly 90 minutes,” Bhati alleged. He claimed he and Jatav were then taken to the SOG office. “At the SOG office, we were tied up and assaulted. We were beaten with sticks and wooden planks on the soles of our feet, waist and back. I was hit around my eye, which left me injured,” Bhati alleged. Photographs subsequently emerged that showed swelling and injuries around Bhati’s eye. Bhati, who is from Amroha, said he was arrested on July 8 following a protest over the death of a Dalit woman. He was jailed for 14 days before being released on bail. He claimed that 10 cases had been registered against him, while Jatav was facing five cases, most of which were related to protests and allegations of assault. Samajwadi Party demands action Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders met ADG Bhaskar and lodged a complaint regarding the alleged assault. SP’s Meerut district president Karamveer Singh said the party has held several joint protests with the organisation led by Bhati. Bhati concurred: “My organisation has worked with the Samajwadi Party on several occasions. I also recently met SP national president Akhilesh Yadav.” Akhilesh, in a post on X, targeted the BJP government over the issue. He alleged that “third-degree torture of farmer leaders by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh shows how rattled it is by the fear of defeat”, and demanded strict action against those responsible. Pandey was in the limelight last month after a video allegedly showed him slapping a protester inside a police vehicle during a protest over the Dalit woman’s death.