By IANS,
Patna : The Bihar government Thursday suspended eight policemen for allowing a jailed gangster to visit his house and meet family members on way to a court hearing a day ago, police said.
Satish Pandey is facing several criminal charges including that of murder, kidnapping and extortion. He is the elder brother of ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator Amrendra Pandey.
Satish Pandey is currently lodged in Chapra jail in Saran district and was allowed by the police team to visit his house on way to court in neighbouring Gopalganj district, a police official said.
Saran Deputy Inspector General of police Alok Kumar suspended all the eight policemen escorting Pandey to the court.
“It was a clear cut dereliction of duty. We have ordered a probe into the matter,” Alok Kumar said.
He said another first information report would be lodged against Pandey for violating jail rules.
This is not the first time that Satish Pandey has used his clout to visit his house despite being incarcerated. He has also attended marriage functions violating jail rules.
In October, jailed former JD-U legislator Munna Shukla was seen distributing pamphlets in Muzaffarpur court to mobilise support for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Adhikar rally.
In the past, jailed former JD-U MP Anand Mohan Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin and former RJD MP Pappu Yadav hit the headlines for holding durbars inside the jail and threatening jail staff.
They were found to have visited the homes of people outside the jail on way back from court hearings.