The state human rights commission on Wednesday recommended stern action against two police officers of Madhubani district in north Bihar for their lapses in connection with the illegal detention of a Nepal citizen in 2009.

Disposing of a petition filed by the victim’s brother, Premlal Mahto, commission member and former director-general of police Neel Mani said departmental proceedings should be initiated against then station house officer (SHO) of Jainagar police station Sanjay Kumar for illegally detaining Ram Narayan Mahto, alias Manager Mahto, at the police station.

The SHO was also accused of handing over Ram Narayan to Nepal police, who killed him in an encounter a day after he was detained.

A resident of Ayodhya Nagar village in the Gola area of Nepal’s Sirha district, Ram Narayan was the national president of Madhesh Rashtra Jantantrik Party of Nepal. The Jainagar SHO had picked him up for interrogation from a tea stall at Lakshi Chowk on July 18, 2009. He was found killed in an encounter with the Nepal police on July 19, 2009.

The commission member held the SHO responsible for illegal detention of Mahto and recommended to the state government to initiate departmental proceedings against him. “The proceedings should be concluded within three months,” Neel Mani said.

The commission also recommended stern action against then Jainagar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Shiv Pujan Singh for sending an incorrect inquiry report to the police headquarters, exonerating the SHO of all the charges. “The SDPO had sent an incorrect report to his seniors to shield his subordinate,” the commission observed.

The panel further recommended the government to award Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family. “The commission should be informed about the action taken by the government by October 15, 2012,” the order passed by Neel Mani said.

The commission has, however, left it open to the government or the police headquarters to recover the amount of compensation to be paid to the victim’s family from the erring officers. “It is up to the government to recover the compensation money from the officer/officers responsible for illegal detention of the victim.”

The rights panel had received a complaint from the victim’s family in December 2011 and subsequently sought a detailed report from Darbhanga zone inspector-general (IG) Rakesh Kumar Mishra. The IG’s report confirmed that Ram Narayan and his three associates were detained at Jainagar police station on July 18, 2009. While his three associates, including Surendra Kumar Singh were let off, Ram Narayan was detained at the police station on the pretext of questioning.