PATNA: Facing criticism from opposition parties, Bihar director general of police (DGP) Sanjeev Kumar Singhal on Friday inspected Gandhi Maidan police station in Patna and ordered the suspension of station house officer (SHO) Ranjeet Vats on the charges of not maintaining the police station's diary.
The action followed the recommendation of inspector general of police, central range, Rakesh Kumar Rathi, who was present at the police station during inspection by the state police chief. Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manavjeet Singh Dhillon was also there.
According to police manual, diary at the police station has to be updated an hourly basis by the SHO concerned.
However, during inspection by the DGP, the station diary was not found up-to-date, a laxity on the part of the SHO, thus inviting disciplinary action against him.
This is for the first time that Singhal, a 1988 batch IPS officer, moved out of the police headquarters to inspect any police station in the state ever since he assumed charge as DGP of Bihar on December 20, 2020. He had superseded Gupteshwar Pandey, who took voluntary retirement three months before to join politics.
Though Singhal was schedule to retire on August 31, 2021, his service was extended for two years from the appointment as DGP. His tenure will come to an end on December 19, 2022.
On Friday, leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav flayed the state government for its failure to contain crime. Murder, loot, rape, extortion and kidnapping have become a routine affair in the state, he alleged and sought chief minister's intervention.
The murder of a Janata Dal United (JDU) functionary in Danapur near Patna sparked off violent protest by his relatives and local residents. A spate of murders in the state capital, including members of business community, has unnerved the top brass of the state police.
Earlier, the state police headquarters had issued directives to all range IGs and DIGs to conduct inspections of the police stations under their jurisdiction.
However, incidents of crime continued unabated in the state.