Policeman hit with belt during Gai Gohri festival in Petlawad; youth on the run

A video has surfaced showing a policeman being attacked with a belt during the Gai Gohri festival in Petlawad, Jhabua district. The incident took place on Monday evening near Mukti Dham. In the video, a youth comes up from behind and swings a belt at the policeman. After the blow, he gave the police the slip and fled, and police are now looking for him.

A crowd of young people had gathered near Mukti Dham that evening for the festival. Police personnel had been deployed there to keep the crowd under control and prevent any dispute. The video shows the policemen returning after chasing away rowdy youths. At that moment, a youth comes from behind out of the crowd and strikes one of the policemen with a belt.

After the attack, the policemen caught the youth and tried to put him in a vehicle, but he slipped out of their hands and ran towards the Pampavati river. He fell once while running, got up, and escaped while gesturing at the policemen.

Two videos of the incident have been shared on Instagram. Their views have reached lakhs.

Petlawad police have denied that there was any serious assault. Even so, police began action after the videos surfaced. According to sources, the youth has been identified and police raided his home, but he was not found there. Police are still searching for him.

Meanwhile, social workers of the local tribal community have expressed concern over incidents of people drinking and disturbing the peace or picking quarrels during festivals. They say the community is running an awareness campaign against such activities.