Click to play videoPatna: The gory pictures of an alleged thief tied to a rope and being dragged by a motorcycle on the streets of Bhagalpur in Bihar had shocked India when they were first aired in August.
Bihar police had tried to enforce the law in Bhagalpur but what’s more shocking is that on Monday, the Human Rights panel of the state Assembly decided to let the policemen off the hook. And the government defends the decision.
“There is no fault of the policemen. It is right that the thief was caught by a policeman and the matter was enquired,” Bihar Urban Development Minister, Ahwani Chawbey said.
However, the Opposition is up in arms and it intends to stall the Assembly over the panel's report.
“If this report is tabled in the then we will take it up. We will not allow such cases to happen. This incident is a blot on the state government,” Congress leader Ashok Chaudhary said.
Strangely enough, the state bureaucracy, too, seems reluctant to accept the report.
“Both the policemen have been dismissed. Investigations are on and the guilty will be brought to book,” Bihar Home Secretary, Afzal Amanullah said.
Even the police top brass defend the dismissal of the accused cops. “We looked into the media footage. We also looked at the evidence, which was available at that time and then we decided this course of action. We have terminated the guilty from the service,” Inspector General (Headquarters) Anil Sinha said.
The clean chit to the policemen comes at a most inopportune time for the state government, which is already under fire for rising incidents of mob fury in Bihar.
With the Winter Session of the Assembly set to begin soon, a resurgent Opposition intends to use this issue to score brownie points.
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