Lucknow, Jul 19 (PTI) Two policemen who allegedly assaulted a youth preparing for a competitive exam here were suspended on Wednesday, a senior official said.

The youth also alleged that the accused policemen forcibly took him to the police station and threatened to charge him in a false narcotics case.

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The police, however, denied that the youth was forcibly taken to the station and came on his own.

On the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, a taxi driver had parked his vehicle on the road at Manak Nagar area and slept inside it at Bara Birwa intersection, which caused a traffic jam, said Subhash Chandra Saroj, SHO, Manak Nagar Police Station. Two policemen Anmol Mishra and Gajendra Singh on patrolling duty tried to wake him up but the driver did not open the door, the SHO said.

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Later, when the door was finally opened, the policemen allegedly slapped the driver. At the same time, Vineet Singh, who was passing by, tried to stop the policemen, leading to an argument and a fight, the officer said.

The accused policemen have been suspended in this matter, he said. Vineet Singh alleged that the two policemen mistook him for the taxi driver's companion and thrashed him badly. They also made him sit on an e-rickshaw which took him to Manak Nagar Police Station, he said.

On the way, the policemen also put 'charas' or 'ganja' in his pocket and threatened to kill him for narcotics smuggling, Singh alleged. Singh further said that when he told his story to other policemen at the station, they said that a mistake was committed after which he was advised to end the matter and left from there.

However, police station in charge Saroj denied Vineet's allegations and said that he was not forcibly taken to the police station by the policemen, rather he came to the police station with a complaint. But due to the unavailability of his lawyer, he did not give it, the officer said. Hence, no case was registered then, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)