Suryakant Kumar. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, April 29: In a possible case of comedy of errors, the Aurangabad police have declared a five-year-old, Suryakant Kumar, a troublemaker.

The police have issued a notice against the child under Section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Suryakant’s father Mahendra Paswan, a resident of Kalhaura village under Dhibra police station in Aurangabad district, was shocked to find the name of his minor son in the list of the troublemakers identified by the district administration in the wake of the ongoing panchayat elections in Bihar.

“I fail to understand how a five-year-old boy can disrupt the poll process. Suryakant, a student of Class I at the government primary school at Kalhauna, can hardly move on his own to go to school. Despite the fact he has been declared a troublemaker and his name has been listed in the register for gundas (goons),” Mahendra said.

According to the rule, the list of the troublemakers is prepared by the police station concerned and subsequently sent to the sub-divisional court for issuing notice under Section 107 of the CrPC.

Those served notice have to take an oath before the court by submitting a bond that he/she would not create disturbances in the election.

In addition, they have to report to the police station concerned everyday.

The panchayat election will be held in Dhibra on May 18.

“I had to take my son to the sub-divisional court to fill up the bond of Rs 15,000 to evade arrest,” Mahendra said, adding that Dhibra police served him a notice last week.

Mahendra appeared before the sub-divisional magistrate K.D. Pranjal on Thursday and submitted a petition, seeking some more time to obtain bail. “I am engaged in the wedding of my relative these days. I will move the court concerned to secure bail for my son,” he said.

“My wife Bimla Devi fell unconscious after receiving the notice from the police station. She is undergoing treatment at a local private nursing home,” Mahendra told The Telegraph over the phone on Friday.

But there is some respite for this Mahadalit family. Mahendra’s name does not figure in the troublemakers’ list. “I am a farm labourer and have to feed eight children, six sons and two daughters,” he said. Suryakant is sixth among the eight siblings.

Aurangabad superintendent of police Vivek Raj Singh said he would look into the matter as to how a minor’s name was included in the list of troublemakers. “This might be a case of mistaken identity,” he told The Telegraph.

A police officer posted at Dhibra police station, however, said they intended to include the name of Suryakant’s elder brother. “Instead, the minor boy’s name was recommended and subsequently a notice was issued,” he said.

He said an application would be submitted in the sub-divisional court to get the name corrected. A practising lawyer of the Patna High Court Rajiv Ranjan Pandey said: “This is violation of the child rights.”

According to information available at the state police headquarters, notice has been served against 3,89,853 people under Section 107 of the CrPC till date.