The state police headquarters has ordered a detailed investigation into the arrest of a 36-year-old Lebanon citizen, Fadi Aziz Fadel, from Sitamarhi last year and subsequent demand of bribe from his family in lieu of help in the case.
Additional director-general (headquarters) S.K. Singhal said on Sunday that a report had been sought on the role of then investigating officer of the case, sub-inspector (SI) Vijay Kumar Gupta, accused of allegedly demanding Rs 10 lakh as bribe from Fadel's relative in Lebanon.
Fadi was arrested on July 8, 2016, after he had mistakenly entered India from Nepal.
"The allegations levelled by the foreign national are serious in nature and hence, a probe has been ordered. Tirhut zone IG Sunil Kumar will conduct a detailed probe and submit a report to the police headquarters at the earliest," Singhal told The Telegraph.
The ADG (headquarters) said strong disciplinary action would be initiated against guilty officers.
The matter came to the fore after Fadi raised questions over his detention in front of the media in Patna on Saturday after his release from jail.
"Patna High Court granted me bail recently. I had to remain in jail for almost 13 months for a crime that I never committed," Fadi told reporters. His legal counsel, Shama Sinha, explained how a foreign national had been jailed owing to "wrong police investigation".
When contacted, IG Sunil Kumar said he would start the probe as soon as he receives an official order from the police headquarters. "I have come to know that the police officer in question had already been put under suspension by the Sitamarhi SP," the IG revealed.
Sources in the police headquarters said Sitamarhi SP Hari Prasath S. had ordered Pupari sub-divisional officer Pankaj Kumar to probe the case. He found the charges against SI Gupta true.
"He was arrested for entering India from Nepal without a valid visa. The police suspected that Fadi was involved in terror activities and he was a threat to the nation's security. The local court denied bail," said a police officer posted in Sitamarhi.
Then Sitamarhi Town inspector-cum station house officer Vishal Sharma had appointed Gupta as investigating officer in the case. Bottles of shampoo, clothes, hard disk, motorbike and currency of Nepal and China were seized from Fadi. The chargeshseet was submitted against Fadi under relevant sections 13 and 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Fadi's relative wrote to the Lebanon embassy in Delhi in November 2016, informing it Fadi had no criminal antecedents in Lebanon and sought its intervention.
According to the Lebanon embassy's letter sent to the ministry of external affairs in January this year, Fadi had gone to Nepal on a tourist visa issued on November 13, 2015, to help earthquake victims in Nepal. He was working for the welfare of earthquake victims in Pokhara and Dholakha in Nepal. Before that Fadi was worked as a logistic coordinator in a Dubai-based oil firm.
