THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Sept 25: The Garhwa district police got rocked by a tragedy of life which if the Dandai police had handled it aptly, would have passed like any tragedy in life.
Police response and public reaction
The Dandai police station in Garhwa overreacted to the crisis. It was far from any readiness to handle eruptions over the death in police custody, said sources.
Sources said it could have read the mood of the mob fast and first, although it showed enough restraints and that restraints on the part of the police which was under the rain of stones, the mob took it for police’s foul play in this death.
Normalcy has limped back to the Dandai police station limits in Garhwa district after public outcry in the wake of the death of an accused in police custody on the intervening night of Monday /Tuesday.
Irate family and co-villagers pelted stones at the Dandai police station. They raised full-throated slogans against the Dandai police terming it as murderous police. Someone in the mob was heard provoking the mob to throw stones at the police station, said sources.
An unconfirmed report said police had to open fire in the air to disperse the angry mob. For some time, it looked like the Dandai police were completely pushed back to the wall. It was caught in a situation; it had not thought of nor did it know how to defuse the tension.
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On the day the ruckus was there at the Dandai police station, SP Garhwa Deepak Kr Pandey was in Ranchi in the ECI meeting there.
Sources said that had the police captain been in Garhwa on the day of the ruckus, the situation would have been far more easily controlled.
Accused’s death and allegations
A knifer Bachha Bhuiyan,50, accused of knifing Dhananjay Sah at Jarhee village under the Dandai police station limits on September 20, was found dead in the Bal Mitr Kakcch of the Dandai police station in the morning of Tuesday by the Chowkidar who was the first to see this accused dead and hanging.
The accused was said to be a chronic alcoholic. An alcoholic and that too in police custody has had his nightmares and it could have been the same for Bachha Bhuiyan, said sources.
The accused Bachha Bhuiyan was in this Bal Mitr Kakcch on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, said the SP.
Sources close to the family said, “The family of the deceased has accused Dandai police of torturing Baccha Bhuiyan to death in its custody.”
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Garhwa SP’s stand
SP Deepak Kr Pandey speaking to this correspondent said, “I outright deny and contradict this accusation of the family. Let the post-mortem report come first. It will show marks of injuries if beaten up by the police. I reiterate there is no such thing at all.”
The second accusation of the family is again as per sources close to the family, “Bachha Bhuiyan was caught by the Dandai police on September 20 itself. He was unlawfully detained in the police station in all these three days and not forwarded to the judicial custody.”
The SP, however, said, “It’s wrong. The accused was brought to the police station only on Monday. It’s a misinformation and a kind of spin-off saying the accused was days together in the police station here.”
The accused was found dead and there was a white ‘gamcha’ around his neck. He was found hanging from the window of the Bal Mitr Kakcch.
On being asked by this correspondent as to how an accused in police custody had extra clothes, here in this case a white ‘gamcha’, the SP said “This is being seriously looked into.”
Again asked if the accused was found dead in the Bal Mitr Kakcch and not in the police lockup to which the SP said “The accused was well in the precincts of this police station.”
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Investigation and procedural actions
The SP said that we have sent a report to the NHRC in this regard.
Under the guidelines of the NHRC, a police custodial death is to be enquired by a magistrate without any undue delay.
The SP said, “Our investigation will be fair and transparent. Let no one be in any doubt about it. Our police respect human rights.”
Sources said the family of the deceased was informed to reach Dandai police station but not told first-hand as to what had happened there with the man.
Garhwa Civil Surgeon Dr Ashok Kumar told this correspondent, “A medical board of three doctors namely H C Mahto, Asjad and Amit Kumar of the Sadar Hospital Garhwa conducted the post mortem of Bachha Bhuiyan by the protocol as laid down by the NHRC.”
“The entire proceedings of the post-mortem were videographed in the presence of the magistrate,” said the civil surgeon and added, “Viscera of the deceased has been preserved.”
The man Dhananjay Sah, who was knifed by Baccha Bhuiyan, is learnt to be undergoing treatment in the RIMS Ranchi.
Asked if Bachha Bhuiyan was any habitual offender or any hardened criminal, the SP said, “As of now police have no such knowledge of any crime or offence history of Bachha Bhuiyan except his knifing Dhananjay Sah.”
The knife used in hurting Dhananjay Sah has been recovered, added the SP.
