Patna, April 4: Eleven police officers, who are fighting a legal battle after being suspended for "failing" to impose prohibition in their areas, are crying "double standards" after another officer's suspension on the same charge was revoked.
Inspector-general (Patna zone) Nayyar Hasnain Khan on January 25 ordered the suspension of Sasaram Mufassil station house officer (SHO) Birendra Kumar Yadav for alleged failure to stop brewing of country liquor at Banarsia village in Rohtas district, 170km southwest of Patna. Khan also ordered departmental proceedings against the officer.
On January 31, however, Rohtas SP Manavjeet Singh Dhillon sent a recommendation to revoke the suspension. Dhillon's recommendation to the office of the Shahabad deputy inspector-general followed a petition - the copy of which is with The Telegraph - from Birendra in which he pleaded innocent. On March 8, DIG Mohammad Rahman revoked Birendra's suspension.
While Birendra's suspension was revoked, 11 other SHOs suspended in August 2016 on the directive of additional director-general (headquarters) Sunil Kumar for alleged laxity in the implementation of the Excise and Prohibition Act 2016 have had to move Patna High Court for justice.
The SHOs were in charge of Phulwarisharif and Masaurhi (Patna), Makhdumpur (Jehanabad), Dehri town (Rohtas), Moranga and Rupauli (Purnea), Chand (Kaimur), Sultanganj (Bhagalpur), Motihari Mufassil (East Champaran), and Runnisaidpur and Bairgania (Sitamarhi). They will not be given charge of any police station for 10 years.
One of the suspended SHOs said: "As the state government had repeatedly announced not to spare any official for his/her laxity on this front (prohibition), we had no option but to move the high court. We have set our eyes on the order of the high court."
In the case of Sasaram Mufassil SHO Birendra, IG Khan had visited Banarsia village on January 25 following the seizure of a large quantity of country liquor. Along with district magistrate Animesh Kumar Parasar, Khan monitored a special drive against illicit liquor brewing and ordered that a police outpost be set up in the village.
The now Sasaram Mufassil SHO, Jag Niwas Singh, said no liquor had been recovered from the village since that crackdown. Rohtas SP Dhillon refused to speak to the media on his decision behind his recommendation.
One of the suspended SHOs alleged that revocation of Birendra's suspension order was tantamount to double standards on the part of senior officers over cracking the whip on the force. "We will certainly bring the matter to the notice of the court," the SHO told The Telegraph.
Another SHO said DIG Rahman had awarded Dehri-on-Sone SHO Vidhyasagar a cash prize for handling anti-liquor operations just three days ahead before being suspended.
Similarly, the suspended SHOs alleged, the action against Motihari Mufassil SHO Kishore Choudhary was initiated despite a crackdown on liquor manufacturing units in the area.
