E-Paper
Action against Potka OC in cop murder case: Jamshedpur SSP
“A neutral investigation has been started into the matter. The matter is very sensitive, and we have taken serious note, and the police are investigating it from all angles. Departmental proceedings will also be initiated if our official is found guilty. Potka OC Manoj Murmu has been line closed, and Sunny Toppo has been made the new OC of Potka,” SSP Pandey told the media on Thursday.
The senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Jamshedpur, Piyush Pandey, has line-closed Potka police station (PS) officer-in-charge (OC) Manoj Murmu and ordered a departmental inquiry into a viral video alleging his role in the murder of police chowkidar Jyotika Hembram, officials said on Thursday.
“A neutral investigation has been started into the matter. The matter is very sensitive, and we have taken serious note, and the police are investigating it from all angles. Departmental proceedings will also be initiated if our official is found guilty. Potka OC Manoj Murmu has been line closed, and Sunny Toppo has been made the new OC of Potka,” SSP Pandey told the media on Thursday.
According to police, a 22-year-old youth accused Potka OC Murmu of having an illicit relationship with police chowkidar Jyotika Hembram, 25, in a purported Facebook Live video. The youth recorded the video on Tuesday, moments after murdering Jyotika and later died by suicide.
“Jyotika and I were in a relationship for the past nine years. I came to know on December 14 that she was with Potka OC Manoj Murmu. This infuriated me, and I killed her by slitting her throat with this knife. I don’t have much time. I am now going to commit suicide. Please, no one should harass my parents and family members,” the youth could be heard in his Facebook Live video.
However, Murmu rubbished all allegations, saying that the woman got a divorce from her erstwhile husband 11 months ago. “The youth was pressurising Jyotika to quit her job and marry him, which she refused. That’s why he killed her,” Murmu told HT.
According to officials, police have registered two cases; one against the youth for murdering Jyotika, based on a complaint by her father Devraj Hembram, and another case of unnatural death (UD).
“Jyotika was the bread earner in the family. She was murdered on duty. We request the government to give us a job on compensatory grounds. The youth was harassing and pressuring Jyotika for marriage. On Sunday, he called me from an unknown number and asked where Jyotika was and why her mobile switched off. I found her mobile switched off. I then called Potka OC, but he didn’t pick up the phone. Later, he called me and told me that Jyotika was with fellow chowkidar Mala in the latter’s house and her phone’s battery had discharged,” Devraj Hembram told the media.
