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Mumbai: A Maharashtra Traffic Police constable was caught communally profiling a Hindu truck driver by falsely labelling him a Muslim and demanding to know “gaddari wala kaam kyun karra (Why are you acting like a traitor)?” in Karanji, Yavatmal.

Shyamlal Rao, the truck driver, was recording a video to show how Muslim drivers are targeted by officers when he himself was stopped. The now-viral clip shows the traffic police constable trying to stop Rao’s companion from recording the video.

Rao had initially asked the officer to remove his face covering for transparency. He then got down and confronted the man when the officer began using physical force. Undeterred, Rao stood his ground, demanding a clear explanation and an apology for the behaviour.

“Are you a Muslim? You must be,” said the officer, to which Rao replied that he was from Rajasthan, belonging to the Jat caste, but not before asking why he had to bring up religion in the conversation.

The officer said, “If you were a Hindu, you wouldn’t do this. Gaddari wala kaam kyun karra? Dadagiri mat kar (Why are you acting like a traitor? Don’t try to intimidate me).”

As the altercation continued, a senior police officer intervened to bring the situation under control. “I am a Jat from Rajasthan,” Rao recounted the incident to the police officer. “In hone badtameezi ki, maine ake shikayet ki. Uske baad yeh bolra hai tu Musalman hai Hindu rehta toh aisa nai karta. Yeh kya baat hui dharm wali batao (He behaved rudely, so I complained. After that, he said, ‘You are a Muslim; if you were a Hindu, I wouldn’t have done this.’ What kind of talk is that, bringing religion into it? Tell me)?”

“You are a government employee, you cannot act like this,” Rao added, demanding that the traffic constable apologise. The issue was later resolved with the senior officer’s help.