PATNA: A senior IPS officer in Bihar fired shots in the air at his farewell party in Katihar, another danced on the street with his colleagues in Munger, while the third one enacted his wedding scene with his wife on stage in Hajipur to celebrate the occasion.
The three IPS officers posted as district SPs in Bihar have left the Nitish Kumar-led government embarrassed and fuming as they engaged in inappropriate behaviour at their farewell parties following their recent transfers.
As video footage of the unusual and noisy celebrations went viral on the social media, the government on Wednesday withdrew the central deputation order of the IPS officer who had fired shots.
The state police headquarters began a probe into the two other farewell parties.
Katihar Senior SP Siddarth Mohan Jain, an IPS officer of the 2006 batch, was caught on camera firing shots in the air from his service revolver while singing aloud Sholay movie song ‘Ye Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge’ with district magistrate Mithilesh Mishra on Tuesday evening.
It was during a farewell party organised jointly by the Katihar district administration and the police association at the Railway Golf Grounds for the two officials, who were among the 69 Indian IAS and IPS officers transferred last week in the state.
Along with his transfer, Jain was assigned for central deputation to CBI. But the state government swiftly withdrew that order after the video footage went viral.
“Firing from the service revolver and dancing on the streets are totally inappropriate ways of participating in a farewell party. The state government has been apprised of these incidents and a probe has been ordered,” said ADGP (headquarters) SK Singhal. The police headquarters, he said, will shortly send an advisory to all officers warning them against holding such farewell parties.
Bihar DGP KS Dwivedi confirmed that Jain’s central deputation order has been “withdrawn with immediate effect”.
He said: “Future course of action for these officers would be decided by the government based on the findings of the inquiry into the entire episode. An inquiry has been ordered”.
Outgoing Munger SSP Ashish Bharti was caught on camera dancing to a popular Haryanvi song with his uniformed colleagues on the streets during the farewell party. It was a virtual procession that went around the city with a decorated four-wheeler and a DJ playing popular numbers.
Vaishali SP Rakesh Kumar, who has been transferred to Bhagalpur, reenacted his wedding at his farewell party scene in Hajipur by exchanging a garland with his wife Priyanka as his colleagues cheered aloud.
The couple stood on a dais decorated like that in a wedding and some of the guests came riding on horses. To complete the wedding ambience, a band party blared wedding songs.
“If a junior policeman engages in any such erratic behaviour, he is immediately punished. Similar tough action needs to be taken against these IPS officers who are seen as role models by the state’s policemen,” said Mrityunjay Singh, president of Bihar Policemen’s Association.