Indian Police Association Seeks Judicial Probe as Official Puts 5 Junior Officers Inside Lockup

Generally, a police official who doesn’t perform his duty diligently is either suspended or faces disciplinary action. If any serious allegations leveled against any police official are found to be true, then he or she can be discharged from the duty or even removed from the force.

The Bihar Police Association, a staff union that has district units, demanded a judicial probe on Saturday against the official who allegedly imprisoned five junior police officers in the Indian state of Bihar. The incident has sparked anger within ranks in the state.

According to media reports, Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Mangla had imprisoned five junior policemen after he found their work dissatisfactory on 8 September. While he denied the claims, videos of the incident surfaced on social media.

In the video, five cops identified as sub-Inspectors Shatrughan Paswan and Ramrekha Singh, as well as three assistants, sub-Inspectors Santosh Paswan, Sanjay Singh and Rameshwar Uraon are seen inside the lockup.

Video Viral As #Bihar Police Officer Puts 5 Juniors In Lockup, Sparks Anger Within Ranks
ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೇ ಜೈಲು!pic.twitter.com/GqLfUgZ01X

— Priyathosh Agnihamsa (@priyathosh6447) September 11, 2022

When media reached out to Mangla, he denied any such incident and decried it as “fake news”. Meanwhile, Bihar Police Association president Mrityunjay Kumar Singh said that Mangla hadn't responded to repeated calls.

In a statement, the association president said: "We got the information soon after the incident from our Nawada branch and it is being discussed on WhatsApp groups of police personnel as well. Incidents like these are reminiscent of the colonial period. The incident is the first of its kind and could tarnish the image of the Bihar Police. We demand a judicial probe and a thorough investigation of CCTV footage."

Demanding a judicial probe against the Superintendent of Police, the association said that it is being alleged that he is pressurizing the aggrieved police personnel to hush up the matter and the attempts are being made to tamper the CCTV footage.

“A First Information Report (FIR) should be lodged under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and a probe should be initiated at the earliest,” the association stated.