E-Paper
SHO lynching case: Seven cops axed for dereliction of duty
Inspector general of Police (IG), Purnia range, Suresh Choudhary on Saturday evening suspended seven policemen, including a circle inspector, on the recommendation of Kishanganj superintendent of police (SP) Ashish Bharti, on charges of dereliction of duty
Inspector general of Police (IG), Purnia range, Suresh Choudhary on Saturday evening suspended seven policemen, including a circle inspector, on the recommendation of Kishanganj superintendent of police (SP) Ashish Bharti, on charges of dereliction of duty.
The seven policemen allegedly left station house officer (SHO) Ashwani Kumar alone on-site when a mob attacked them during a raid in West Bengal’s Pantpada, killing the SHO on the spot.
The suspended policemen have been identified as Raju Sahni, Akhileshwar Tiwari, Pramod Kumar Paswan, Ujjawal Paswan, Sunil Choudhary, Sushil Kumar along with circle inspector Manish Kumar. SP said that departmental action will be initiated against them.
Kishanganj SP Kumar Ashish said that the Bengal police has registered a case under Sections 147, 148, 149 (all three related to rioting and mob lynching), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 302 (murder) of the IPC at Golpokhar police station. Kishanganj police have also lodged a case under Section 394 (person voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the IPC.
The SP said that so far, seven persons including main accused Firoz Alam, have been arrested and raids are still being carried out to arrest the rest of the accused.
Given the spurt in bike theft incidents, Kishanganj SP had directed the police officers of all police stations of the district to carry out extensive raids to arrest the gang members.
SHO Ashwani Kumar of1994 batch was a resident of Jankinagar in Purnia. He was survived by his wife Meenu Sneh Lata and three children.
Meanwhile, unable to bear the pain of loss, mother of the SHO passed away on Sunday morning.
Bodies of both the SHO and his mother were consigned to flames in their native village at Panchu Mandal Tola with full state honours in presence of senior police, administrative officers and hundreds of people on Sunday afternoon.
