M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Aug 23: Jharkhand DGP Neeraj Sinha has assured Palamu BJP MP V D Ram of inquiry by Palamu DIG R K Lakra into the release of the four accused of the alleged murder of a 70-year-old man from the Meral police station last week following which a belligerent mob of people gheraoed the Meral police station, pelted stones at the cops and in retaliation, got canned and charged with lathi blows.
MP V D Ram talked to lagatar24.com last night and said, “On Monday, I met DGP Neeraj Sinha and apprised him of how the Meral police station had unprofessionally and ineptly handled the post-death scenario which could have been handled with just some very common sense and foresightedness.”
“The DGP told me that he had no idea about this Meral police station episode until I apprised him of the episode as he said the Garhwa SP didn’t send any report in this regard to the police headquarters till the time I was in conversant with him,” the MP added.
“Well, I have no business to bother how and why Garhwa SP Anjani Kumar Jha did not send the report to the police headquarters. It is his cup of tea, not mine” MP V D Ram further said.
However, he was very critical of the way the Meral police station handled the whole episode.
Notably, MP V D Ram is the former DGP of Jharkhand and knows the style and functioning of the police very well.
The MP said there was a total lack of tactfulness on the part of the Meral police and things were taken for granted that nothing bad would happen but the worst came, taking the wind out of the sail of the SP Garhwa and his team.
V D Ram said a 70-year-old man was found dead in mysterious circumstances and the locals named four persons as accused of it. Meral police detained the accused but let them off and that triggered a massive outrage against the police.
“Locals openly charged the Meral police with acting partisan and letting off the 4 to the cash down for it,” added the MP.
According to the MP, the Meral police is be blamed for all the violence that erupted in Meral.
“I was told by the Garhwa SP that the 4 persons were let off after thorough interrogation and there was no evidence found against them,” quoted the MP taking a sharp dig at the SP countering his version of no evidence against the 4.
“Were the 4 arrested in haste or hurry without even laying hands on any piece of corroborative evidence?” he added.
The MP did not stop here when he put another poser to the SP Garhwa asking him, “Then what prompted Meral police to detain the 4? Was it in the fitness of case for the Meral police to be so quick to let off the 4 without gauging the mood and mind of the locals who were too agitated over the mysterious death of the 70-year-old man?”
The MP again quoting the Garhwa SP said, “I was told by the Garhwa SP that police did not have the postmortem report of the deceased till then. A postmortem report takes time. The safest course of the Meral police would have been to move intelligently with postmortem reports, circumstantial or material evidence, inputs etc and not to act in such a manner that sent out a very damaging message among the public that the local police had taken cash for the release of the 4.”
MP Ram said the locals are genuinely apprehensive about the vindictive action of the police now against them. There is no timeline as to when the DIG police Palamu would be completing his inquiry since the DGP only said it would be at the earliest.
