Bihar cop suspended for firing on flood-hit

The two-member probe team headed by Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah has recommended suspension of the policeman involved in firing on flood victims in Madhubani district, reports Amitabh Jha.

The two-member probe team headed by Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah has recommended suspension of the policeman involved in firing on flood victims in Madhubani district on Friday. One person had been killed and three injured in the firing.

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"The firing by Havildar Aditya Narayan Singh on the crowd was totally unwarranted and he has been put under suspension on the instruction of the Chief Minister," Amanullah said on Saturday. All the three demands of the victim Darshan Thakur’s family — suspension of the errant policeman, institution of a criminal case against him and compensation — had been accepted, he said.

"A criminal case is being instituted against the suspended policeman and a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the deceased would be provided by Sunday," he said. "Going beyond the set norms, the government would also explore possibilities for a job to the wife of the deceased," he added.

This was just one of the things that kept the government engaged on the flood front, which showed little signs of let up. It finally pressed into service Indian Air Force helicopters to airdrop food packets in the worst hit Darbhanga district. According to the Disaster Management Department, 77 persons have died in the floods across the state so far.

Water Resources Minister Ramashray Prasad Singh said that the Burhi Gandak river was rising rapidly and had reached just 0.03m below the high flood mark near the Rosera rail bridge in Samastipur district.

Following heavy rainfall of upto 223.60 mm in the catchment areas in Nepal over the last 24 hours the water level in that river was also expected to rise.