Kanpur, July 18: An Uttar Pradesh police official allegedly overpowered a woman, pulled her to the ground and hit her as he sat on top of her in Kanpur Dehat district. Photographs of the cop sitting on top of the woman and hitting her, have gone viral on the social media. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday.

The Kanpur Dehat Police denied the allegations and said that the team was attacked by the women of the family of Shivam Yadav, who according to the police, had threatened a candidate in the panchayat elections. According to reports, sub-inspector Mahendra Patel had an altercation with the woman in Durgadaspur village while he was looking for Yadav. Uttar Pradesh: Pic of UP Policeman And Woman's Scuffle Goes Viral; Kanpur Police Shares Video of Incident To Clarify Claims.

Kanpur Dehat superintendent of police (SP) Keshav Chaudhary said the videos show that Patel, who is the in-charge of the Bhognipur police post, fell on the woman but according to Yadav's family, the police officer acted in an unruly manner because they refused to obey the 'demands' made by Patel.

The official said that Yadav was gambling with a few friends and was caught by the police but his mother and wife clung to him which led to a scuffle between Patel and the women. They also said that Yadav's wife, Aarti Yadav, fell down during the scuffle. Aarti, however, denied their claims and said she was beaten badly because she wanted to know why her husband was being taken away.

"He slapped and then dragged me down to the ground. He then sat on top of me and started hitting me badly. The villagers intervened and rescued me," Aarti told reporters. She also alleged that Patel demanded money to release Yadav and the family's refusal enraged him.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2021 02:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).