By Imran Khan, IANS
Patna : A poor rickshaw puller battled for life Tuesday after a mob thrashed him and two policemen dragged him by a motorcycle through a rough road in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district for allegedly snatching a woman’s gold chain.
Shamed by the exposure of the police brutality by television news channels, the Bihar administration quickly suspended both guilty policemen who instead of rescuing the victim from a mob subjected him to humiliating torture.
Mohammad Aurangzeb alias Saleem of Nathnagar town, about 150 km from here, was first severely beaten with leather belts, rods and stones by people Monday after he was caught on the complaint of a woman who lost her gold chain.
The police brutality has come as an embarrassment for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who claims to have brought “sushasan” or good governance to Bihar.
Lalu Prasad, railway minister and president of Bihar’s main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), told reporters in New Delhi Nitish Kumar must step down.
“This has only exposed the real face of Nitish’s widely publicised rule of law. If Nitish is really concerned about the plight of the poor man and is sincere about maintaining law and order, he should immediately slap a case under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to culpable homicide) on the concerned police officer.
Otherwise, he should stop talking about law and order and instead resign,” Lalu Prasad said.
Lok Janshakti Party chief and Steel Minister Ramvilas Paswan added: “The Nitish Kumar government should take tough action against the policemen.”
Santosh Kumar, a social activist from the town, said Aurangzeb, in his early 20s, was beaten black and blue by people intent on giving him summary justice.
“He was caught after some people chased him. Soon a mob gathered and started beating him after tying his hands. He was crying for help but nobody cared.”
The two policemen soon reached the spot but instead of rescuing him, they tied one of his legs to the back of their motorcycle and dragged him along the rough and bumpy road for not less than 100 metres.
Aurangzeb was badly bruised in the process.
According to Bhagalpur district officials, the man was admitted to a government hospital in a critical condition.
“He is undergoing treatment but his condition remains critical,” an official said Tuesday.
Bihar Police chief A.R. Sinha suspended the two policemen, Ramchandra Rai and L.B. Singh.
The state’s Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah said: “If a policeman doesn’t respect the public, then he has no right to hold that post.”
Bihar Police spokesperson Inspector General Anil Sinha said that action had been taken against the two policemen involved in the incident and asked the officer in charge of the Nathnagar police station to submit a report.
He, however, downplayed the incident, saying Aurangzeb had a criminal background. “There were criminal cases lodged against him, he was a known criminal in the area,” he said.
Human rights organisations have condemned the incident and demanded immediate action against police. The National Human Rights Organisation (NHRC) has taken a suo motu cognisance of the incidence and asked the state police to explain the matter.
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb’s grandmother and sister were running from pillar to post for over 24 hours, meeting district officials and requesting them to hand him over to them.
“We are poor, no one takes our words seriously,” the sister said.