Hands up! UP police frisks motorists at gunpoint

In videos that have now gone viral on social media, cops in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun can be seen frisking motorists at gunpoint. Police say it is a precautionary method to avert any possible attack.

Badaun (Uttar Pradesh):Oblivious of the humiliation that it may be causing to common citizens, the Badaun Police has been subjecting people to security checks at gun points with both their arms held up in the air in a hands-up position.

In defence of this drastic method of security checks being resorted to by the police, district's Senior Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Tripathi on Monday asserted that it was a precautionary method to avert any attack on policemen on duty.

Videos and some photographs of the policemen frisking people and checking their vehicles at police barricades on roads with one policeman pointing a gun at them, forcing them to stand motionless in hands-up position have gone viral on various social media platforms in the area.

When contacted, SSP Tripathi said, "Criminals generally move with firearms and there have been several instances of attack on policemen during security checks."

"Hence, this has been done as a precautionary measure. When two cops are conducting checks, one cop is in an alert mode, so that no untoward incident takes place, the SSP added.

"This is being done from the security point of view," he said.

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