80-year-old MP woman fasts, seeking punishment for cops who broke her bones

Newspaper published a picture of Kamlabai being beaten by three cops using sticks

A photograph of an 80-year-old woman being beaten up by three cops wielding sticks during the ongoing farmers' protest in Madhya Pradesh, carried by Patrika, a Hindi daily went viral. Initially many questioned the legitimacy of the image but multiple media interviews of the woman confirmed the image to be real.

According to the report in Patrika, the cops beat up the 80-year-old woman and ended up breaking her bones. The image led to outrage on social media for the inhuman behaviour of the cops.

A report in Times of India identified the woman as Kamlabai Mewade, who wanted to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was holding a ‘peace fast’ in response to the agitation by Madhya Pradesh's farmers. The report adds that the police beat up her 83-year-old husband too. 

"I was sitting in my house along with my husband, sons and grandsons when police barged in. They accused me of hiding stone pelters inside my house. I denied, and said they were free to look around but they started beating me and my husband with sticks,"  TOI quoted her as saying.

She told the newspaper that the cops shouted 'Buddhi pathrav karva rahi hai, aag lagwa rahi hai.’

As per reports, the cops took her and six other members of her family to Khajuri police station and arrested her grandsons. Kamlabai Mewade said that the cops who thrashed her were younger than her grandsons. She also added that she wants to ask them that why they hit her.

After the news was confirmed, social media started condemning the act. Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi also criticised the incident. He tweeted the picture of the elderly woman being beaten by the cops saying, “BJP spreading love”.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been on a strike since 1st June to demand better prices for their crops along with a loan waiver.  Six farmers had died after police opened fire at farmers protesting in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh on 7th June. However, farmers in Maharashtra have called off the strike now after the state government announced loan waiver to farmers owning land up to five acres.

After the protests, the MP’s CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also went on fast. On Sunday, he ended his ‘fast for peace’ at Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal.

According to the latest report by Patrika, the woman has been sitting on a fast for the last three days demanding suspension of the cops who assaulted her.