PATNA: A police officer and two home guards were forwarded to judicial custody on Saturday for their alleged involvement in thrashing mercilessly an engineer at Bihpur police station of Naugacchia in Bhagalpur who later died during treatment on wee hours of October 25.
Police said arrested officer was identified as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Shiv Balak Prasad and home guards were Rajesh Paswan and Manoj Kumar Chaudhary. They were arrested on Friday.
Police said slain engineer was Ashutosh Kumar Pathak alias Appu Pathak, aged around 33 year. He was a native of village Marwa of Jhandapur police outpost under Bihpur police station area of Naugacchia.
Jhandapur police outpost in-charge Shiv Prasad Ramani said slain engineer had a one year old daughter. He said police had come to know he was undergoing treatment for kidney ailment and was mentally depressed too.
Ramani said Bihpur’s suspended SHO Ranjeet Kumar and a contractual police driver Jehangir are named accused in the murder case and were still evading arrest.
He also said engineer’s post-mortem report mentions that he died of haemorrhage and shock from multiple injuries received from blunt object before death.
The in-charge said arrested ASI and home guards were deputed at Mahant Sthan chowk with a magistrate Sanjeev Kumar for vehicle checking when Pathak’s bike got brushed with another bike at around 3pm on October 24.
“Pathak was returning from temple that time. Both bikers entered into arguments. The SHO also reached at spot same time and intervened. All of a sudden Pathak rained few punches on SHO’s face. Police then thrashed Pathak and took him to Bihpur police station in a police vehicle. There he was beaten further,” he said.
Ramani said he had reached Bihpur police station at around 7pm and spotted Pathak bleeding from nose and in serious condition inside lockup.
He said Pathak was rushed to nearby primary health centre and then to Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH) at Mayaganj in Bhagalpur where he died during treatment at around 3am on October 25.
“Arrested home guards have confessed during interrogation after arrest that suspended SHO had thrashed Pathak mercilessly with baton until he had started bleeding,” he said
In-charge said that the ASI was posted at Kadwa police outpost while the two home guards were posted at Bihpur police station. The in-charge said trio were non-FIR accused in the case.
“Pathak’s family actually didn’t knew their names. They were traceless after Pathak’s death. Raids were on to nab rest two,” he added.