The merciless beating of an army man in Mayurhund block of Chatra for not wearing a mask made superintendent of police Rakesh Ranjan act within few hours of the incident and suspending three policemen and other two were line closed.
The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon in Karma Bazar area with Pawan Kumar Yadav, a general duty soldier at army's camp in Jodhpur.
Ranjan took action on Wednesday midnight after getting a report in this regard from DSP(headquarter) Kedar Ram. To probe the matter, Ram reached the Karma Bazar and talked to local people and eyewitnesses. Ram also pacified villagers who had blocked the road soon after the incident. Later Ram handed over his report to Ranjan on Wednesday night which questioned the conduct of five policemen.
Ranjan said three policemen were suspended with immediate effect and other two were line closed. He The Telegraph Online, "On the basis of report from DSP(headquarter), three policemen(1 Head Constable and 2 constables) have been suspended. Two sahayak constables have been line closed."
Pawan said as he reached Karma on his bike, when police jawan Sanjay Bahadur Ram stopped him and took away the keys of his vehicle. “I told them my identity but policemen there kept repeating as why I was not wearing the mask. When I showed them my helmet with face covered with visor, they started misbehaving with me followed by beating with lathis as well as punches and kicks too,” added he.
Mayurhund block development officer Saket Sinha who was present on the spot and leading the mask checking drive was not held responsible for this incident. But local residents demanded action against him as he remained a mute spectator during the incident. To justify his action, Sinha issued a statement that Pawan started quarrelling first with one of the policemen which led to this incident. But DSP’s report punched a hole into this theory of Sinha. Pawan is a resident of Arabhusai village of Katkamsandi block in Hazaribagh district.
Local residents, political leaders and representatives of army association has decided to meet senior officers to demand stern action against erring policemen.
