A showcause notice has been served against Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) superintendent of police Amitabh Kumar Das for writing to the special branch about Union minister Giriraj Singh’s alleged links to the Ranvir Sena.
BHRC secretary Anand Vardhan Sinha issued a notice against Das on Monday asking the latter to explain within a week on the use of the official letterhead and logo of the commission for writing a letter to special branch inspector-general J.S. Gangwar alleging collusion between the junior minister for micro, small and medium enterprises with the private army of upper caste landlords. The decision to issue the notice against Das was taken at a meeting of two members of the commission headed by chairman justice (retd) Bilal Nazki soon after they came to know about the letter addressed to Gangwar, a copy of which was also sent to the commission, on Monday.
The showcause read: “You can have your opinion but at the same time you can’t give an impression that the opinion is of the BHRC. Express your position to the commission within seven days of receipt of the notice.”
Panel member Neel Mani later told reporters that the commission decided to seek clarification from the SP concerned for using the letterhead and the logo of the commission, which gives an impression that his (Das) opinion was the commission’s opinion. “We will decide the future course of action after we get the reply,” he said.
The intelligence bureau reportedly swung into action and contacted the special branch to obtain the copy of Das’s letter, addressed to the Prime Minister.
While top police officers were tight-lipped, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi demanded immediate suspension of Das. Sushil said the police officer (Das) crossed his limits and used the official letterhead of the BHRC to communicate his personal opinion.
In addition, Sushil clarified that Das would also have to face privilege motions for making baseless allegations. Das sent a reply to the commission on Tuesday. The 1994 batch IPS officer said: “As an IPS officer, I am duty bound to keep the special branch informed. The special branch is the intelligence unit of the Bihar police. If I withhold the vital information from the special branch, I fail to perform my duty.”
The letter further stated: “As far as use of the letterhead and the logo of the commission is concerned, it was an official communication and not a personal letter. Therefore, I used the official letter pad. I stand by my report to the special branch.”
JDU leaders, however, came out in the open to defend Das. Food and consumer protection minister Shyam Rajak said: “There must have been some truth behind the letter alleging links of the Union minister (Giriraj) with such a banned outfit (Ranvir Sena). They (BJP leaders) often talked in such a fashion, which hinted that they have been associated with the banned outfit.”
Senior BJP leader C.P. Thakur rubbished the SP’s report, saying that they have never been associated with any such organisations. “No such organisation called Ranvir Sena ever existed,” he added.
