Police stations sanctioned decades ago yet to come up in Bihar

In March this year, BJP MLA from Dhaka, Pawan Kumar Jaiswal, had even raised a question in the assembly and sought details from the state government about the “missing” 62 police stations and 27 police outposts.

Pitwaas, situated 40 kilometres south of Bihar’s capital Patna and once a hot bed of Maoists, is still waiting for a police station, which was sanctioned first in 1999, and then again in 2007, by the state home department, as per documents accessed by HT.

Between 1981 and 2015, the Bihar home department (SHD) had proposed around 62 police stations. (Picture for representation)

Today, residents have to travel 10 kilometres to Naubatpur to get a police complaint lodged.

This is not an isolated case.

Between 1981 and 2015, the state home department (SHD) had proposed around 62 police stations, including nine in Muzaffarpur, five in Patna, eight in Jamui, four each in Bhabhua and Viashali, three each in Nawada, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Sitamarhi, Lakhisarai and two in Banka district. Notifications were accordingly issued. Additionally, 27 police outposts were also sanctioned.

However, none of them have seen light of the day so far.

In March this year, BJP MLA from Dhaka, Pawan Kumar Jaiswal, had even raised a question in the assembly and sought details from the state government about the “missing” 62 police stations and 27 police outposts.

Among them are five in Patna alone, including Pitwaas.

Even older is the case of Panchrukhiya police station in Patna, sanctioned on February 25, 1981. To date, it has not become functional.

On the same date, the state home department (SHD) also proposed a police station at Mussalahpur in Patna City, but that also does not exist on the ground.

On April 11, 2014, the SHD proposed two more police stations, at Imamganj and Piplawan in Paliganj subdivision (Patna), but they have also remained a non-starter.

After the BJP MLA raised the issue in the House, the home department started afresh a move to ensure that these police stations become operational. “We are looking into the matter,” said additional director general of police (headquarter) Jitendra Singh Gangwar.

However, when HT visited Pitwaas village recently, there was no police station to be seen. “This is a crying need in the area. We have to travel about 10km to lodge a complaint with the Naubatpur police station,” said Basawan Paswan, a resident.

Similar is the fate of the proposed police station at Imamganj (Patna). The administration also acquired land at Jhunathi village but things never moved after that.

In 2021, the then Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Upendra Sharma visited the site and assured villagers that a new police station would be set up shortly. A proposal was sent to Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation, but nothing has come up on the ground so far.

Likewise, Chanan railway police station under Jamalpur rail district was non-existent. Jamalpur superintendent of rail police, Amir Javed, said the police station could not be made operational and blamed non-operational railway traffic.

An official of Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation, who didn’t want to be named, said, “Three buildings of proposed police stations in Aurangabad and four in Bhabhua are under construction. For six police stations of Muzaffarpur, land has been transferred to the department concerned.”

The whole matter of “missing” police stations came to light when Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) was awarded a contract of installation of CCTV cameras at 925 police stations and 250 outposts in Bihar in February 2022. The company officials couldn’t find buildings of police stations or any police outpost at specified locations in 28 out of the 40 police districts.