Our Bureau/

When top cops concentrate on smooth run of community policing in eastern Bihar districts for having sympathy from denizens of remote hinterlands to counter left wing extremism, junior police personnel allegedly extorting money from poor and illiterate villagers while imposing false cases on them!

The recent incident of an incident in which a youth from a village from Maoist ravaged Jamui district who also qualified Bihar public service commission (BPSC) and waiting for his job in Bihar police, first implicated in a false case and then has to pressure from the police for heavy bribe to establish his innocence.

However police captain of Jamui has to suspend the reader of sub divisional police officer (SDPO), Jhajha, and showcased  the SDPO after the intervention of Sushil MSingh Khopde, inspector general of police (IG), Bhagalpur police zone in the case of demanding of bribery by the cops.

IG, Bhagalpur zone, Sushil MSingh Khopde.

Khopode however assured that the errant cops of Jhajha in Jamui would certainly be punished after verification of the audio clips in which they have allegedly demanding bribe for releasing out a youth from a  criminal case.

Earlier  one youth, Rabindra Kumar Das from Mohonpur under Lakshmipur PS in Maoist infected Jamui district complained that he was falsely implicated in a case by Jhajha police and mounting pressure on him for money to omit his name from the case. Das who qualified BPSC waiting for his posting in state police.

Khopde told that earlier the youth complained the matter to him and he instructed superintendent of police, Jamui to verify the matter. “Only after scientifically examination of the audio clips in which the youth was asked to pay bribe to establish his innocence by the cops, we would be in the position to take appropriate action. But if the claims of the youth would be established, the cops involved in the incident would not be spared,” he said.

In the meantime, SP, Jamui, J Raddey has suspended Sunil Kumar, reader of SDPO, Jhajha for demanding Rs 30 thousand from Das. The audio conversion between Das and the reader of SDPO, Jhajha in which the reader was asking Das to provide Rs 25 thousand for SDPO, Jhajha, Bhasker Ranjan and Rs 5 thousand for him, however goes viral in social media sites. The SP show cased Ranjan in the case.

According to Das, a dispute over property has been going on the at the family of his sister, Nirma Devi who married at Nabkadih village under Jhajha PS in Jamui. “The family members torcher my sister and her husband and there are several cases since 2015. In a recent development, the opponents of my sister managed to include my name in a case of attack and beating up them on the evening of July 2 last at the village. Police without verifying the matter, ransacked my house  and insulted my aged mother, Shakuntala Devi (70). We faced huge loss as police which raided my house mainly for my arresting, damaged many items like the main door, solar panel etc in my house,” he alleged.

Das and his wife.

Das also produced some evidences like CCTV footage of ATMs of bank of India and Axis bank, Jamui where he was seen taking out money from the ATMs at the time on July 2 when it was alleged that he had beaten the opponents of his sister at Nabkadih village. “The time mentioned in the FIR alleged my presence at Nabkadih. But at the same time the CCTV footages shown in conducting transactions at the ATMs at Jamui at the short interval of times. Now how it is possible for my presence both at Nabkadih and Jamui town with a distance of more than 32 Kms,” he pointed out.

Das who earlier went to Jhajha PS for establishing his innocence, SHO, Siddhaswar Paswan demanded heavy amount and threatened him with dire consequences if he would not be give the money. “When I went to the SDPO, Jhajha, Bhasker Ranjan, I was instructed by the SDPO to talk with his reader, Sunil Kumar. Sunil demanded Rs 30 thousand from me while saying that my name would be exempted from the case only after giving Rs 25 thousand to SDPO,” he alleged. “The cops fixed high rates for me as I am scheduled to join in police job after completing BPSC and threatened me to spoil my career if would not oblige them,” Das alleged while adding that he already given Rs 10 thousand to Sivshanker Tiwary, the IO of the case (201/18) in which he was made accused.

Broken solar panel at Das’s house in Jamui.

Two telephonic conversations between the reader of the SDPO and Das, one 11.01 minute and another 7.10 minute became viral in which the reader openly asking Das to bribe the SDPO and him.

Sources alleged that the SDPO has been asked to conduct a probe in the incident. “How it is funny when an officer himself involved in the controversy, has been assigned by the higher cops to investigate. This is not a new incident here, such errant officials use to exploit poor illiterate innocent villagers while putting their names in naxal cases,” alleged many at Jhajha.

“Recently a poor tribal was forced to surrender as hardcore Maoist and the SDPO, Jhajha played an important role in surrendering the man,” said Banti Kumar, a villager from a village near Jhajha township. According to him earlier the youth from Banka district was implicated in such a “case” related with Maoists’ activities and when he approached Jamui police, he was compelled to surrender. And police projected him a hardcore Maoist when the fact is that except his name was mentioned by one arrested rebel in a case, police don’t have any solid evidence against the youth which could suggest him as a “hardcore Maoist”.