MP cops explain why they stripped a journalist and a few activists in custody

New Delhi, Apr 08: The Madhya Pradesh police who faced a backlash after a photograph of a journalist and a few activists showed them stripped to their underwear have clarified that this was done to ensure that they do not commit suicide.

We keep them in jail in this way so that they cannot commit suicide using their clothes, Station House Officer, Manoj Soni told news agency ANI.

The photos of the journalist and activist sitting in their underwear has gone viral. The police station in charge of Kotwali Sidhi and a sub-inspector have been suspended and attached to the police lines. The protesters were released on April 3.

They were taken into custody for staging an unauthorised protest against the arrest of Neeraj Kunder, the director of Indravati Drama School on April 2. Kunder was arrested for posting defamatory content using a fake identity against a local BJP MLA and his son.