A senior scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc) in Trombay will find it difficult to buy chief minister Nitish Kumar's claim of good governance and rule of law in the state.

For, J.N. Sharma's family has been moving from pillar to post for the past three months to get justice.

Some local criminals have allegedly grabbed Sharma's ancestral home at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district.

"They (grabbers) have locked my house from outside and banned the entry of family members. Repeated requests to the police and administrative officials has fallen on deaf ears," Sharma told The Telegraph over phone from Mumbai.

The scientist is so deeply hurt by the callous attitude of the police and administration in Rohtas that he has decided to knock on the doors of the President and Prime Minister for justice.

"It seems, Bihar officials have no respect for people who have been serving the cause of the nation," an exasperated Sharma said.

He said he tried to contact Bihar director-general of police (DGP) P.K. Thakur twice on Sunday but could not. "Finding no way out, I sent an SMS to the DGP, drawing his attention to my family's problem. But I have not received any response from his side till now," Sharma said.

His efforts to contact chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, too, drew a blank.

Earlier, Sharma had sent an email to Rohtas district magistrate Sandeep Kumar R. Pudakalkatti and superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande, giving details about forcible occupation of his ancestral home.

"But till date no action has been taken against the squatters, who have now threatened one of my brothers, Prabhu Nath Sharma, with dire consequences," he said.

Rohtas SP Lande heard out the scientist, but at the end of it all, he shrugged it off saying it was a property dispute in which the role of the police is limited. "The SP disconnected the line as soon as I reminded him of a case lodged in April with the Dehri police station by my brother, Prabhu Nath Sharma, against the offenders," the Barc scientist said.

Prabhu Nath visited Dehri-on-Sone in April and met all top officials in Rohtas, around 165km south of Patna.

"The locks were opened for a few days on the intervention of the district magistrate, who had promised to sort out the problem. But the locks reappeared as soon as my brother returned to Mumbai," Sharma said.

Prabhu (45), a businessman based in Mumbai, again visited Dehri-on-Sone and complained to the officers concerned.

This time, the squatters threatened him with dire consequences.

"My brother has been staying at a hotel for the past 15 days and is moving from one office to another to get them to remove those who have occupied the place forcibly," an email sent to the chief secretary said.

The chief minister, away in New Delhi for an important meeting, has been marked on the mail.

Officials at the chief minister's secretariat would neither confirm nor deny receipt of the mail from Prabhu.

The acting station house officer (SHO) of Dehri-on-Sone police station, Anand Kumar Gupta, said relatives of the Barc scientist visited the police station on Monday to discuss their ordeal and seek help from the police.

"I candidly told them not to visit again. It's not the police's job to evict those who forcibly occupy homes," Gupta told The Telegraph.

Gupta, a sub-inspector, is posted as SHO though the office is earmarked for an inspector-rank officer.