New Delhi: Two farmer leaders from western Uttar Pradesh have alleged that they were brutally thrashed, humiliated and subject to torture by the district police chief of Meerut and other police officers inside his office and another location on August 19. The Meerut police initially denied the allegations, claiming that the two men – Digvijay Singh Bhati and Mohit Jatav – sustained injuries after their scooter skidded while they were returning home after meeting the police. However, amid much outrage a probe was initiated by the Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone on Friday (August 21).Meanwhile, the under-fire Senior Superintendent of Police Meerut, Avinash Pandey, who is accused of orchestrating the alleged torture, was transferred to the the DGP headquarters in Lucknow on August 20. He was among the nine IPS officers who were transferred but, unlike others, was not allotted a new district. Last month, Pandey faced severe criticism after a video surfaced showing him pacing up to a van and repeatedly slapping a Dalit activist, advocate Ravi Gautam, who was already pinned inside the vehicle. The incident happened during a protest demanding better investigation in the murder of Lalita Gautam, a student from Meerut who belonged to the Dalit community. The latest allegations of torture are linked to that protest and the police action thereafter.Bhati and Jatav’s allegations against the policeWith a swollen left eye, Bhati, an Amroha resident and president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (B.R. Ambedkar faction), broke down as he narrated the alleged torture before mediapersons. Bhati said that he and his associate Jatav had gone to meet SSP Pandey in his office on August 19 to discuss the July protest case, in which police had booked him and others for violence, accusing him of being the main orchestrator of the blockade. While Bhati belongs to the Gurjar community, an Other Backward Caste community, Jatav is a Dalit. In a video shared on social media, Bhati said that he and Jatav met the SSP around 11:30 am to request him to remove their names from the Lalita Gautam protest case, saying that he was not even in Meerut on the day of the protest. Bhati alleged that barely had he uttered this, that SSP Pandey used foul language to denigrate his activism as ‘netagiri (political manouvring)’ and referred to him as a “gunda (goon).” When he questioned the officer about the verbal abuse, Bhati said he was dragged into an adjoining room in the SSP’s office and brutally thrashed.“I was beaten so badly that I cannot even open my eyes,” said Bhati. He alleged that Pandey first elbowed him multiple times before beating him with a belt. When Bhati fell on the floor, he alleged, the SSP kicked him in his eye with his boot several times.Bhati further alleged that SOG personnel later took the two activists to an undisclosed location and assaulted them for several hours. He alleged that inspector Akhilesh Gaur, posted at Civil Lines police station in Meerut, and 4-5 police personnel tortured them.Bhati alleged that Jatav and he were beaten with belts, after which their legs were tied and the soles of their feet were repeatedly hit with lathis. He alleged that police also punched him on his temple several times. “They beat us like this in five rounds…When I asked them for water they gave water in the cap of a bottle. They tortured us a lot. I cannot even get up,” said Bhati.The two were also allegedly humiliated. Bhati alleged that after being brutally thrashed the police played the Hindi song ‘Choli ke peeche kya hain’ on a mobile phone and forced them to dance to it even though they could barely stand.As photographs of Bhati, with his swollen eyes and bruises, were widely shared on social media, Meerut police and the Yogi Adityanath government were severely criticised by opposition leaders. SP MLA Atul Pradhan conducted a press conference along with Bhati, who had his left eye taped due to the injury, and Jatav. “The BJP government has completely resorted to authoritarianism and brutality; attempts to suppress voices out of the arrogance of power will not be tolerated at all,” said Pradhan, adding that the very thought of such brutal treatment makes one shudder. “If the BJP government subjects prominent figures to such treatment, one can only imagine how the common citizen is falling victim to them,” said.‘False and baseless’: Police’s initial denialAfter Bhati’s allegations surfaced, Meerut police issued a statement describing the allegations as false and baseless. The police said that Bhati and Jatav visited the police office at the Civil Lines Police Station to discuss the previous FIR regarding the protest registered against them. While returning home, they fell and sustained injuries after their scooter skidded and in this regard, Bhati and Jatav themselves submitted a written application at the police station which was recorded in the general diary entry no. 53 at 17:31 hours, said Meerut police. It is not yet clear what the written application was about.The police also noted that Bhati and Jatav were listed as ‘historysheeters’ at their respective police stations and had several criminal cases registered against them – 10 against Bhati and seven against Jatav. Probe announcedOn August 21, ADG Meerut zone Bhanu Bhaskar, however, said that cognizance was taken of the allegations of indecency and assault of Bhati and Jatav inside the SSP’s office. Bhaskar told media persons that DIG Saharanpur would probe the allegations and based on the report submitted by him, further action would be taken. “On August 19, a dispute arose in the SSP Meerut office. A minor altercation occurred between the two, and after that there was use of violence. We have ordered an inquiry,” said Bhaskar.Chandrashekhar Aazad, Nagina MP, said the brutality inflicted upon the two men while in police custody raises serious questions regarding law and order and police accountability. Aazad demanded that the government immediately secure the CCTV footage of the police office, arrange for an independent medical examination of the victims, ensure an impartial investigation and take strict legal action against any officers found guilty.Addressing a tweet to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Aazad further said, “This is not policing; rather, it is a blatant misuse of the power vested in the uniform and amounts to custodial torture. No officer has the right to take the law into their own hands.”Condemning the allegations, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav demanded a thorough investigation and strict punitive action, including dismissal, against every guilty party.“The torture inflicted upon farmer leaders—including the use of ‘third-degree’ methods at the police station—by the UP BJP government reveals just how rattled they are by the fear of defeat,” he said on X.BackgroundIn July, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took cognizance of the police crackdown in Meerut under SSP Pandey, issuing notices to the UP Home Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) after finding prima facie violations of human rights. The NHRC acted on a complaint filed by the Bhopal-based Dr. Ambedkar Jan Kalyan Samiti, which demanded an independent inquiry and to establish individual police accountability. The organisation alleged that police “unleashed an unprovoked, brutal lathi-charge, inflicting severe physical injuries on multiple protestors.”The unrest stemmed from the murder of Lalita Gautam, a young Dalit woman who went missing from the Transport Nagar police station area on May 15. Her body was recovered two days later, on May 17, from a village in the Rohta area. Within 48 hours, police arrested the prime suspect Ankush, an acquaintance of Lalita, and later apprehended two others for allegedly destroying evidence.On July 8, a crowd gathered outside the Meerut Commissioner’s office, demanding the arrest of the prime suspect’s family members, whom they claim were also involved. Accusing the protestors of unlawful assembly, rioting, and allegedly assaulting police personnel on duty, Meerut police arrested several persons and lodged an FIR which included the charges of attempt to murder and modesty of women police personnel.Police identified Bhati as the primary orchestrator of the blockade.