Bihar: 7 cops awarded HM’s medal for excellence in investigation

PATNA: Altogether five IPS officers and two inspectors of the Bihar police have been conferred with the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation (2021), a list of which was released on Thursday. The cops include Nitasha Guria (Bhagalpur SSP), Babu Ram (Darbhanga SSP), Hari Prasath S (Nalanda SP), Nilesh Kumar (STF SP), Yogendra Kumar (Madhepura SP), Ugranath Jha, and Mohammad Neyaz Ahmed (both inspectors).
As many as 152 police personnel serving across the country have been awarded the medal this year.
According to sources, of all the cases for which the five officers and two inspectors of the Bihar police have been feted, conviction was carried out in only the one related to the gang rape of a minor at Rajgir in Nalanda in September 2019. In January 2021, seven people were awarded life imprisonment in the Rajgir case. The remaining cases are either under trial or being investigated.
Babu Ram and Yogendra Kumar received the medal for solving the kidnapping case of a 25-year-old at Singhwara in Darbhanga. The criminals had demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore, but the victim was recovered after three months from Muzaffarpur. Altogether 12 kidnappers were arrested, who are presently facing trial.
Kumar told TOI, “Police have to think and act like criminals sometimes. We laid traps to arrest the kidnappers several times and learned to handle pressure and be patient.”
Hari Prasath S recalled a dacoity case when he was posted in Nawada last year. “The criminals entered a house and murdered the owner’s 14-year-old son by slitting his throat. Our team tracked them down and arrested them within two days,” he said, adding that it was a team effort as everyone played a vital role in cracking the case which is under trial at present.
Visibly happy with the medal, Natasha Guria, who joined as the SSP of Bhagalpur in January 2021, pointed out that her priorities were proper and timely investigation of cases, crime control and maintenance of law and order in the district.
“Making Bhagalpur a crime-free district and creating a people-friendly image of police are my responsibilities,” Natasha said and added that she had given strict instructions to the SHOs of different police stations to get rid of criminals.