Bharati Singh, a woman cop in uniform says she was asked by her superior officer to slap several women at an Aligarh police station in Uttar Pradesh. On camera, Ms Singh is seen raining blows on the women, who had gathered to demand the release of their children detained in a case of theft.Ms Singh, a Sub-Inspector, says the women were thrashed because they had stormed the police station. Her brutality, captured on camera, has just reinforced the perception that the police in Akhilesh Yadav's UP is an unbridled, unchecked force that perpetrates khaki terror.This latest incident happened after seven children and teenagers, aged between 12 and 17, were detained by the Kwarsi police for allegedly stealing jewellery and gas cylinders. Their mothers gathered other local women and stormed the police station to demand their release.The cops allege that the women abused them and tried to force the release of their children and that is when Bharati Singh assaulted them.No action has been taken yet against Ms Singh or her superior, Station Officer Satinder Kumar Singh, though an inquiry has been ordered by the Aligarh district Senior Superintendent of Police.

Last month, the Supreme Court sought an explanation for why a 10-year-old girl was locked up by women constables in Bulandshahr in the state after her mother said the child had been sexually assaulted.