PATNA: The BJP on Thursday launched a broadside against senior IPS officer and Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manavjit Singh Dhillon for allegedly comparing the extremist Population Front of India (PFI) with the RSS, the ideological mentor of the party.
At a presser called on the arrest of three suspects linked to terror outfits in Phulwarisharif in Patna, Dhillon on Thursday said, “Like the RSS shakhas where physical training is given, the terrorist organization was propagating its agenda among youths in the name of physical training.”
The remark snowballed into a controversy as Bihar ADGP (Headquarters) Jitendra Singh Gangwar later came out with a clarification on behalf of the state police. He said the SSP’s statement was unwarranted and that the matter would be verified. The SSP should concentrate only on investigation, he added.
A show-cause notice has also been issued to the SSP for his remark, asking him to reply within 48 hours.
Bihar BJP spokesperson Arvind Singh said. “The SSP’s statement is highly condemnable. An officer with such a mindset should not continue as SSP of Patna,” said the spokesperson.
“The RSS is a nationalist organisation. The government should take stern action against the SSP.” On the other hand, spokesman for the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), a BJP ally, Danish Rizwan defended the SSP statement, asserting that there was nothing wrong in it. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Patna, the police arrested Mohammad Jallauddin, a retired police officer of Jharkhand police, and Mohammad Athar Parvez, a former member of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from Phulwarisharif in the state capital on July 11.
Later, one Mohammad Arman was arrested based on information given by Jallauddin and Parvez whose brother was earlier arrested for his alleged links with serial blasts at Gandhi Maidan in Patna during meeting of then BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi in October 2014. Unconfirmed reports said two more suspects have been picked for interrogation in connection with Patna terror module. The identity of the detainees has been kept secret.
Preliminary investigation revealed that youths from different states, including Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh came to Phulwarisharif for training on the terror plot.“Evidence of fund transaction from Pakistan and Bangladesh has also been collected,” said ASP (Phulwari) Manish Kumar. During a raid, the police recovered many incriminating documents and 25 flags of the PFI from the rented accommodation of the three suspects.
Meanwhile, Patna SSP Manavjit Singh Dhillon said that altogether 26 people have been named as accused in the FIR lodged with Phulwari police station. “Raids are being conducted to arrest others involved in anti-India activities,” he added.