JAGATSINGHPUR: Naugaon police were left red-faced after wrongly arresting a bank cashier for a crime in which another man with the same name was accused. Prakash Chandra Biswal, a cashier at Bank of India, Deriki branch in Naugaon block, was on his way to the bank in the morning when he was intercepted by police. Mistaking him as Prakash Kumar Biswal alias Pakun against whom a warrant was pending, the cops caught hold of the bank cashier near Deriki Medical Chowk.
A confused Prakash tried to reason with the cops stating that he was a cashier in the local bank. He requested them to release him as he had to reach the bank with the keys of the cash room. However, all his pleas fell on deaf ears and the police forcibly took him away in their vehicle.
Meanwhile, work in the bank at Deriki came to a standstill as Prakash could not reach the branch with the keys. Sources said many customers were stranded outside the bank for around one hour. Later, the police realised their mistake and released Prakash. Sources said the cops had gone to Deriki village to arrest Pakun who was involved in a criminal case. But as the bank cashier shared the same name as the accused, the cops picked him up mistaking him for Pakun.
Following the incident, Prakash filed an FIR in Naugaon police station against the erring cops. “The cops abused and manhandled me before dragging me by the collar into their jeep. They also humiliated me inside the vehicle,” stated the FIR. Prakash further claimed that police were refusing to register his complaint.
Contacted, Naugaon IIC Anirudha Nayak admitted that it was a case of mistaken identity. After verification, police released the bank cashier. “As FIR is yet to be filed in this connection, police have not registered any case,” the IIC claimed.