Baren Sen, battered and burgled, was denied a helping hand by three policemen

Battered and bleeding from the blows dealt by burglars who had just robbed his home, the man in his early sixties had pleaded for help from the guardians of the law. What Baren Sen got in return from three policemen on duty early on Tuesday was a lesson in jurisdiction ? and dereliction of duty.

On Wednesday, Metro identified the three callous cops ? assistant sub-inspector R.K. Mondal and constables Ashok Bhattacharjee and Dilip Dutta.

The trio belongs to the Purba Jadavpur police station.

?I was bleeding heavily and in great pain as I was being rushed to the hospital along with my nephew who was also badly injured,? Baren Sen, a former state fire services chief, told Metro on Wednesday.

?Near Ruby Hospital, I spotted a police patrol jeep on the EM Bypass. I rushed to them and recounted what had just happened and asked for their help.?

But far from helping out, the policemen rudely told him they could not ?step out of their jurisdiction? as Sen?s house in Hossainpur, off the EM Bypass, falls under Tiljala police station.

He was then asked to contact the police station concerned, located several kilometres away.

?They said their job was to guard the Bypass and they could not go around chasing dacoits and burglars,? recalled Sen, who was shocked by the response.

?If a person is getting murdered in front of them, can the police turn around and look the other way simply because the incident is not within their jurisdiction?? demanded Sen, who was hit with a crowbar by burglars and required 12 stitches on his head.

His nephew, Rabindranath Mukherjee, was also beaten up and had to be administered 16 stitches on the head. Jewellery and Rs 1 lakh cash was looted from the Sen residence.

But the cop callousness following the dawn dacoity has failed to shake up the authorities. Superintendent of police, South 24-Parganas, S.N. Gupta, refused to acknowledge that such an incident had taken place.

?The question of non-co-operation from our end does not arise. Some of Sen?s neighbours had approached the police patrol, but the policemen on duty told them that they had informed the Tiljala thana on their wireless set and police would reach Sen?s home any minute,? insisted Gupta.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, without any particular reference to Tuesday?s incident, reiterated ?full faith? in his police force in this ?oasis of peace?.

Witnesses, however, corroborated Sen?s claim. ?Whatever Baren Sen has said is absolutely correct,? asserted Gopal Bhattacharya, director of fire services, who was present when Sen was turned away by the policemen.

The lone voice of support from the state administration for Sen seemed to be that of the director-general of state police, S.C. Avasthy, who termed the incident as ?extremely unfortunate?. Avasthy has sought a report from the superintendent of police, South 24-Parganas.