Controversial Excise Minister Jai Prakash Bhai Patel, who is under scanner of the Hazaribag police for the theft of arms of his bodyguards, said that he was cooperating with police in the investigation and will even undergo Narco analysis test, if necessary, even as a public interest litigation was filed in Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday seeking a probe by NIA in the entire episode.
Two AK-47 rifles with 150 rounds of ammunitions along with one service revolver with 35 rounds of ammunition had been stolen from three bodyguards of the Minister on November 23 at Hazaribagh circuit house. “I have no objection in undergoing a Narco test if needed. Being a responsible citizen, I am trying to fully cooperate with the police in the case, as I want this to be completed as soon as possible,” said Patel.
“I have full confidence in Judiciary and believe that everything will end up well after the investigations,” Patel, who happens to be son of late JMM leader Teklal Mahto, who incidentally, too had faced a similar controversy. In Narco test, the person is injected with 'truth serums' that cause the person to become uninhibited and talkative. But the test does not have any legal validity as confessions but it helps the police to get to the bottom of the case. The court may give limited admissibility depending on the case.
The Hazaribagh police have demanded Narco test of one of the constables Navneet Kumar of Special Branch, arrested in the case, who was deputed in the security of Patel. The tests are to be done at Ahmedabad in Gujarat and the police are likely to get the dates within 15 days. Patel may also be interrogated again, if needed.
“As investigations are still on and we can interrogate anybody, including the minister as per the requirement in the case,” said Hazaribagh SP Manoj Kaushik. Kaushik said that the Police are looking for one middle man who is still out of reach. He however, refused to disclose his name due to security reasons.
Patel said that he was not going to quit from the post just because the Opposition has raised such a demand. He, however, hastened to add that he was bound to follow the instructions of the Chief Minister. “Hemant Soren is my boss and I will quit from the post, the moment he asks me to do so,” said Patel. According to Patel, he was lucky that the arms got recovered or he would have been made responsible for the same by the Opposition. He said, being member of a reputed political family, he will never get indulged into such an act or controversy.
In the meantime, Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta said that no sanction is required from him for interrogating any minister in a criminal case. He was responding to the statement made by Power Minister Rajendra Singh which said that it was not proper for Patel to be questioned by the police without the Speaker’s permission. “As per the constitutional provisions, police do not require to take permission from the Speaker for interrogation,” said Bhokta. The police only have to inform the Assembly within 24 hours, if a minister gets arrested in any case, he added.
In another development, a PIl was filed at the Jharkhand High Court in the arms theft case demanding investigation by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) taking a suo-motto cognizance in the case. “Since the case is being investigated by the police which is working under the minister himself, the case must get investigated by some competent independent agency like NIA as it is related to a serious issue like arms deal which could also be used in any terrorist activity,” said petitioner’s advocate Rajiv Kumar.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has demanded Narco test of all those persons whose involvement was doubted by police and the people. “The same law which is applicable to the constable must also apply to the Minister,” said State BJP President Ravindra Rai. “Since this is not the first such incident involving Patel’s family, police must make the outcomes of the investigation public to remove any doubts from the minds of a common man. People of the area have started doubting the administration as well as the political representatives after this incident,” added Rai.