Nitish Kumar orders inquiry into arrest of vegetable seller

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the arrest of a mahadalit youth after he reportedly refused to give vegetables to a police officer free of cost.
The inquiry will be conducted by an IG- rank officer. The report has to be submitted within two days.

The matter was highlighted by a TV news channel on Wednesday with the boy’s parents alleging he was taken away by police from their house in Chitragupta Nagar under the Patrakar Nagar police station area in Patna and forwarded to jail on the charge of looting a bike. He was also described as an adult in police documents, they said.

The arrested boy’s father, Sukhan Paswan, told TOI over the phone on Thursday some policemen reached his house on March 19 and said Aghamkuan ‘bada babu’ had summoned his son. “My son said he would come with his father but they dragged him away by his collar,” he said.

Paswan said he along with his son runs a vegetable shop at Mahatama Gandhi Nagar on Kanti Factory Road.

“For at least two days, I could not know where my son was even though I was made to visit all the police stations in the area. We later came to know he had been sent to Beur jail,” he said, adding his jailed son told him he was falsely implicated because he stopped giving free vegetables to a police officer.

It may be recalled the Patna police had released a press note on March 21, stating SSP Manu Maharaaj had received inputs about assemblage of three members of a bike loot gang near an automobile showroom under the Beur police station area. Their arrests led to the recovery of four stolen bikes.

Police had said one countrymade pistol, eight live cartridges and Rs 1,100 were seized from their possession. The arrested youths were identified as Nitesh Kumar, Vishal Kumar and the vegetable seller.

When asked, Patna zonal IG Nayyar Hasnain Khan said he had called for the case records. “Paswan’s allegation is grievous,” he said adding he would be in a position to comment on the veracity of the charge only after two days.