Son took out sword in self-defence, says father of driver assaulted by Delhi cops

New Delhi, June 18

The father of tempo driver Sarabjeet Singh, who was involved in a clash with police, defended him saying his son took out his sword to save himself and not to harm anybody.

A police officer was injured after he was allegedly attacked by Sarabjeet Singh at Mukherjee Nagar on Sunday evening, police said, adding that the driver also chased the officer with the sword, following a collision of their vehicles.

Also read: Delhi Police brutally beat up father and son on the street

Manjeet Singh (75), the father of the 45-year-old "Gramin Sewa" driver, said his son took out the sword for his own safety after the police officers allegedly thrashed him with baton.

Video clips of the incident have gone viral on the social media.

In one of the purported clips, the man is seen chasing policemen with the sword in his hand, while in another, the policemen are seen thrashing him and his son with batons.

Sarabjeet Singh's intention was not to harm anyone, but to save himself, Manjeet Singh said.

"We just want strict action against the police officers involved in the incident. They have brutally beaten up Sarabjeet Singh and his minor son," he said.

Three policemen have been suspended for "unprofessional conduct" during the clash with the tempo driver, a senior officer of the Delhi Police said.

Manjeet Singh, who lives alone in Gandhi Vihar area, demanded that justice should be done to his son.

"I was more worried about my grandson as he is a minor and was attacked by them in broad daylight," he claimed.

The family of Sarabjeet Singh said they have given 24-hour time to police to take action and rusticate the police officers who were involved in the incident otherwise they will protest again outside the police station.

Manjeet Singh has three sons and Sarabjeet Singh, who lives with his son and daughter in Sant Nagar area, is the youngest one.

He been driving "Gramin Sewa" from past couple of years.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police beefed up security around the Mukherjee Nagar police station where the incident took place.

A numbers of people, especially from the Sikh community, gathered outside the Mukherjee Nagar police station Monday morning and demanded rustication of all the officers involved in the incident.

The situation remained tense in the area Monday as people held protest to express anger over the incident.

The auto drivers in the area said they would not allow autos, Gramin Sewas and e-rickshaws to ply on the route.

"We asked vehicle drivers to take some other route," one of the auto drivers said. Police, along with special force, successfully dispersed the crowd and restored the traffic situation in the area. PTI