A Superintendent of Police in Bihar’s Nawada town put five junior policemen working under him in a lockup as a punishment for “negligence” of duty. A video of the bizarre incident, which took place on September 8  has gone viral on social media.

The Bihar Police Association today demanded an inquiry against Gaurav Mangla, the Superintendent of Police, for the incident that took place on September 8.

Although the SP had at first denied the incident, the security camera footage shows five policemen— Sub-Inspectors Shatrughan Paswan and Ramrekha Singh and ASIs Santosh Paswan, Sanjay Singh and Rameshwar Uraon inside the lockup at Navada Nagar police station. They were let out after two hours, around midnight.

The SP is reported to have come to the police station around 9 pm on September 8 to review cases. He found “negligence” by some officers, at whom he got angry and ordered they be put in the lockup.

Mrityunjay Kumar Singh, president of the Bihar Police Association, said he tried to talk to the SP but he didn’t take his call. Today, he issued a press release demanding an inquiry.

He also expressed fears that the CCTV may be tampered with by the SP, who heads the police.

Meanwhile, the Bihar Chief Secretary has issued an order to all senior officers telling them “not to resort to extreme steps” in dealing with subordinates.