Babu Ram

The criminal investigation department has given former Sheikhpura superintendent of police Babu Ram a clean chit in a custodial torture case.

Ram and eight other policemen were accused of subjecting a 20-year-old youth to third degree torture in police custody early this year.

Ram, a 2009 batch IPS officer, is now Buxar superintendent of police (SP), shifted there on August 28 on the recommendation of a two-member probe team constituted by the state government. The case was ultimately handed over to the CID.

State police headquarters sources said deputy SP Gajendra Singh was assigned to ascertain the role of police personnel in allegedly torturing Mukesh Kumar alias Chhotu in police custody on January 24. A deputy inspector general rank officer was asked to monitor the probe.

Singh, appointed investigating officer of the case (No. 21/13) lodged with the Barbigha police station on the statement of the victim, submitted a preliminary report to Sheikhpura chief judicial magistrate RSN Pandey last week.

The investigating officer found the allegations against the then SP’s four bodyguards — Rakesh Kumar, Kundan Kumar, Manu Pratap and Vinod Kumar — and sub-inspector Mukesh Kumar Verma to be true. Verma was in charge of the special cell constituted by Ram to detect serious offences.

The report hinted at gross negligence by then Jairampur police station house officer (SHO) Gagan Sudhakar and constable Sandip Paswan. The report, however, said SP Babu Ram was at a meeting with police officials at Haveli Khagarpur, a sub-divisional town of Munger district, on the day of the incident.

The SP’s official cellphone number was traced to the venue of the meet and not to his official residence where the youth was allegedly tortured.

Others who attended the meeting on the Munger DIG’s instruction were the SPs of Munger and Jamui. Babu Ram refused comment after the clean chit.

The role of then Barbigha police SHO Ram Pratap Paswan was still being probed.

Sheikhpura SP Meenu Kumari acted swiftly on the recommendations of the investigating officer and put seven police personnel, including the four bodyguards of her predecessor, under suspension and initiated departmental proceedings against them. The former SP’s driver, Shailendra Kumar, was also suspended. However, only departmental proceedings had been initiated against Gagan Sudhakar, then Jairampur police SHO.

SP Kumari confirmed the disciplinary action against guilty cops but refused to elaborate. “Talk to senior officials about any other action in connection with the incident,” she told The Telegraph.

Victim Mukesh had fainted as his intestine ruptured after his tormenters inserted a hard, blunt object into his private parts. He was rushed to Patna Medical College and Hospital and later shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and operated on.

Sources said Mantu Singh, a liquor trader, was also made an accused in the torture case. Mukesh earlier worked at Mantu’s shop and was taken into custody, allegedly, at Mantu’s behest. The two had a dispute over payment of wages.

Earlier, all policemen posted at Barbigha police station were transferred to other districts on the recommendation of a high level probe team comprising inspector general (prisons directorate) Anand Kishor and additional director general of police (headquarters) Ravinder Kumar.