Patna: The Bihar State Human Rights Commission (BSHRC) has ordered the immediate arrest of a police official who allegedly killed a Dalit colleague for sitting on “[the] front seat of a vehicle” while they were travelling together.
The commission has also directed the police to confiscate his property, if he resists arrest.
The BSHRC issued the order on Thursday after the victim’s son, Surendra Kumar Rajak, approached the rights body for justice since the local police showed no interest in the case.
The incident took place in August of last year, but the police are yet to arrest the accused.
In his complaint, the petitioner, a resident of Jaisingh village in east Champaran district, said that his father Krishna Baitha, a police sub-inspector, was shot dead by his colleague Ajay Kumar Singh Yadav for sitting in front. Both the victim and accused were posted at Baniapur police station in northern Bihar’s Saran district.
Rajak told the commission that on August 29 last year, his father was sitting on the front seat of a jeep while Ajay Kumar Singh Yadav and other officers were sitting in the back.
“Suddenly, the accused police officer asked the victim as to how could he sit on the front seat and fired at him from his service revolver. The bullet pierced through my father’s abdomen, [and] he died eventually,” the petitioner told the rights body.
He said that after the incident he registered a case with the local police, but the accused has not been arrested as yet.
The commission directed the deputy inspector general of police concerned to appear before it with a definite decision in the case and status of investigation. The officer appeared before the commission and said the accused has been absconding.
Based on this report, the commission has directed the police to handover the property of the accused and pay a compensation of Rs750,000 (Dh43,527) to the family of the deceased at the earliest.
