Upendra Kumar Sinha

Patna, Oct. 27: The Bihar Human Rights Commission has taken a strong exception to the clean chit given to a deputy inspector-general-rank officer by the state government in a custodial death case.

Irked over the government’s decision, the commission has summoned the home department special secretary, Alok Raj, asking him to explain under what circumstances the police officer in question Upendra Kumar Sinha was promoted despite the recommendation of the commission to initiate departmental proceedings against him.

Sinha is at present holding the post of DIG, central range, which consists of Patna and Nalanda districts.

The commission had earlier recommended departmental proceedings against the 1999-batch IPS officer for allegedly giving undue favour to the accused in a case related to the death of an undertrial Suresh Yadav in mysterious circumstances. Suresh, who was facing charges of dacoity, had died in the Masaurhi sub-divisional jail on June 3, 2007.

A case of unnatural death was lodged with the Masaurhi police station in Patna district after the victim’s relative alleged that Suresh had been brutally assaulted by some jail officials, leading to his death. The then Masaurhi sub-divisional police officer, Sushil Kumar, had prima facie found the allegations to be true against the accused.

Sinha, who then happened to be the superintendent of police of Patna rural, however, overruled the supervision note of the then Masaurhi sub-divisional police officer and ordered the investigating officer to submit the final report as false against the accused. The final report was submitted to the court concerned on June 21, 2008.

The matter took a new turn after the victim’s son, Mukesh Yadav, approached the state human rights commission for justice and sought action against the IPS officer. The commission took cognisance of the matter and conducted a hearing in the complaint case. On September 22, 2009, the then chairman of the commission justice S.N. Jha disposed of the case after recommending department proceedings against Sinha.

Justice Jha also ordered the state government to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim’s widow, Malti Devi.

Though the government immediately complied with the commission’s order to pay compensation to Suresh’s widow, the former differed on the recommendation for initiating departmental action against the senior police officer, who was considered to be close to a senior ruling party leader.

Instead, sources said, the state government sought an explanation from Sinha and subsequently gave a clean chit in the matter. He was promoted to the DIG rank in the first week of October this year and made deputy inspector-general of the central range.

Before his new assignment, Sinha was holding the post of superintendent of police of rail (Patna). A notification with regard to his promotion and posting as DIG, central range, was issued by the home (police) department on October 5.