Does one get license to do whatever he wants to provided he is a man in uniformIJ It can be understood if the law breaker is from the higher ups of the Police Department but turns doubly painful when the mischief is from a constable!
The fact came to fore but not before the two teenaged Dalit girls of Saradu village of Tandwa under Chatra district got to know about it. Belonging to a single family the 17 and 14 year old school girls were returning from a nearby village fair on November 13 when Sujit Kumar Singh, a Constable with Ranchi police posted at police line, allegedly (mis)used his uniform.
"My daughter and granddaughter were coming back after attending the fair in the evening. When they reached a secluded place Sujit Kumar Singh and his companion Mister Ansari started passing lewd comments on them, caught them by the wrist and tried to pull towards bushes," said Nand Kishore Ghasi narrating the ordeal.
Fortunately, people passing by heard the desperate calls of the girls, chased the two men down and caught them. "One could be caught but Sujit succeeded in fleeing from the site. later after reaching home the girls uttered entire incident to us. We came to know that both are our co-villagers and their homes are about four kilometers away from ours in a different tola of Saradu," added Ghasi, who is also a Government school teacher at Honhe Middle School at Tandwa.
Failing in getting any help from the villagers considering the divide of upper and lower strata of society, real shocker came for the dalit school teacher when the aggrieved family approached the police for help.
"After initial hiccups we managed to lodge the FIR (164/15) at Tandwa police station. The police even booked them under Sections 376, 511, POSCO Act and under SC/ST Act and arrested Ansari but set free Sujit Kumar Singh," charged Ghasi.
The man in uniform roamed free in the village and joined his duty in Ranchi thereafter. Ghasi alleged that the police were having hand in glove with him and working under intense pressure to sweep the matter under carpet.
"I visited the police station and met PS in-charge Shiv Gope for nabbing the real culprit of the case. He in turn bullied me and cited excuse that investigation is on in the matter. later he maintained unofficially that there is intense pressure on him from higher ups for underplaying the matter," said the father.
Restless and hapless Ghasi went on shooting letters right from the SP to DIG, IG, DGP and have written even to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister. "When I saw no help coming from any quarter I wrote to all who's who on November 16 narrating the entire episode. However no respite has come to me so far," he said. The anxious family's entire hope is now rests on Chief Minister's Janta Darbar in Ranchi and the door is expected to be knocked on this Wednesday.
When contacted, Chatra SP Surendra Kumar Jha denied having any information about the matter. "The case is not in my knowledge. But it may also be case of personal rivalry as Panchayat elections are going on. Several such allegations and counter allegations are propping up now-a-days. But if the case is genuine then being a constable would not save anyone from getting tried as per the law," said the SP.
Ironically, the official who answered the call given on the official phone number of Tandwa PS disconnected it saying it was of some other police station!