E-Paper
HC orders unsealing of three rooms of ex-minister’s wife’s hotel in Jamshedpur in 48 hours
Jharkhand HC orders unsealing of hotel rooms owned by ex-minister's wife, citing police delays in investigation and questioning the sealing's legality.
The Jharkhand High Court (HC) has ordered immediate unsealing of the three rooms of M/S Atithi Bhawan, a hotel owned by Anjana Bhuiyan, wife of former Jharkhand land and revenue minister Dulal Bhuiyan, in Bhuiyadih under the Sitaramdera police station (PS) in Jamshedpur, lawyers close to the development said on Thursday.
“The state director general of police (DGP), Jamshedpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the then Sitaramdera OC Vinay Prasad Mandal appeared in person in the HC as per the court order on Wednesday. After hearing the parties, the HC bench of justice Sanjay Prasad held that admittedly the sealing has been done on July 12, 2024 whereas the FIR has been registered on August 17, 2024 and, there is a delay of about 40 days in lodging of the FIR and the investigation in the matter has not reached its conclusion till date. The court then directed that the sealed rooms of the Hotel premises of the wife of ex-minister Dulal Bhuiyan be unsealed within 48 hours and the matter will be heard further thereafter,” Zaid Imam, senior HC advocate representing Anjana Bhuiyan, told HT on Thursday.
The court was hearing the writ petition (4309/2024) filed by Anjana Bhuiyan.
“The responsible officials didn’t carry out their duty properly. The police investigation doesn’t show professional maturity and presented a wrong picture of the law before the society, resulting in loss of credibility of the police. If the licensing of the Hotel was to be investigated, that could have been verified with the department issuing such license. But the police raided and sealed the hotel rooms on the basis of a mere information,” the HC order stated.
“Holding any common citizen guilty for not presenting documents instantly is against the principles of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Sealing just three rooms of the hotel was also not logical - if the hotel was illegal then the entire premises should have been sealed,” the HC has observed in its order, copy of which is with HT.
The case dates back to the night of July 12, 2024 when the then Dhalbhum SDO Parul Singh, DSP Niranjan Kumar and the then Sitaramdera OC Vinay Prasad Mandal conducted a surprise raid at the hotel and sealed its three rooms. The police had detained five young men and women who were staying in the hotel but later released them on PR bonds. The FIR was registered under sections 20(ii)/27 of the NDPS Act and sections 3/7 of the Immortal Trafficking (Prevention) Act on August 17, 2024.
