The Indore police have suspended two constables for beating up an autorickshaw driver on Tuesday because he was not wearing his mask properly amid the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported. The police action came after a widely-circulated video of the incident in Madhya Pradesh sparked public outrage.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the 35-year-old driver was on his way to meet his father at a hospital, according to NDTV. Krishna Keyer’s mask had slipped down and the constables demanded that he go to the police station first. As he refused, a scuffle ensued and Keyer was pinned to the road and beaten up.

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The video shows both the constables kicking and punching the man, even as his young son kept wailing. The assault by the policemen – Kamal Prajapat and Dharmendra Jat – took place during the day in a busy area, and bystanders did not intervene.

Superintendent of Police (East) Ashutosh Bagri told PTI that the auto driver grabbed the collar of one of the constables and started abusing and assaulting him and his colleagues. “The video of the incident which is going viral on social media has been edited and cropped to tarnish the image of the police,” Bagri alleged.

He added that a city superintendent of police has been asked to investigate the matter.

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Another unidentified police official claimed that Keyer has cheating and extortion cases were filed against him in the city.

India on Wednesday reported a record 1,15,736 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to more than 12.8 crore cases, data from the health ministry showed. The toll in the world’s third-worst-hit country after the United States and Brazil reached 1,66,177 after 630 new fatalities.

On Monday, India reported more than 1,00,000 cases for the first time since the pandemic began last year. Nearly 97,000 cases were registered on Tuesday. As cases continue to surge, authorities in several parts of India have begun to impose strict restrictions to rein in the pandemic.