Bihar PUCL inquiry report
Manjhaul police firing kills two youth

Following the publication of a news-item in various newspapers on 24.12.2002 regarding the police firing on a Tata Sumo vehicle on 23.12.2002 near the Manjhaul Outpost (O.P.), which claimed life of two youths, the Begusarai unit of the PUCL held a meeting, where it was decided to conduct a suo motu enquiry of theincident. Accordingly, an inquiry team was formed, in which Arun Kumar (vice-president, PUCL, Bihar), Ramashray Prasad Singh (president, Begusarai district unit of PUCL) and Ram Naresh Sharma (PUCL’s Bihar State Council member) were nominated to conduct the inquiry.

The team visited Manjhaul and conducted an on-the-spot inquiry on December 25 and 27 and talked to an injured Rajiv Ranjan and his co-traveller Viranjan Kumar onDecember 25 and recorded their versions. They were aboard the ill-fated Tata Sumo (BR-06E-2786) when the incident took place.

Statements of Eyewitnesses and the victims
Statement of Rajiv Ranjan, S/o Late Kamta Prasad Singh, resident of Manjhaul under the Cheria Bariyarpur police station of Begusarai district:
An injured Rajiv told the PUCL team that his FIR in connection with the incident was lodged by the police only after intervention of the Begusarai superintendent of police (SP). The FIR in question constitutes the case No 130/02 of the Cheria Bariyarpur police station. Rajiv Ranjan swore by the FIR, in toto.

Statement of Viranjan Kumar, S/o Mr Rajendra Singh, of Saankhmohan under the Cheria Bariyarpur police station jurisdiction of Begusarai district:
Claiming himself to be an eyewitness, Viranjan Kumar fully supported the version of Rajiv Ranjan and added that as soon as the Tata Sumo became slow at thespeed-breaker near Manjhaul O.P., Dy.S.P. Maheshwar Mahto and other police constables rained bullets on it its back from the O.P. side. “I managed to save myself by ducking in the vehicle. But Rajni Ranjan and Rajesh Kumar died in this firing, while the driver, Firoze Alam, and Rajiv Ranjan got injured,” Viranjan Kumar said. This was discovered by Viranjan when the vehicle stopped.

Statements of Anil Kumar Ishwar, S/o Mr Rameshwar Singh alias Buddhu Ishwar, resident of village Seori under the area of police station Cheria Bariyarpur of Begusarai district and Aditya Ishwar, S/o Kamleshwari Ishwar, of Seori village under Cheria Bariyarpur police station of Begusarai district:
It was about 8 pm on Monday (23.12.2002). I was at my battery shop -­ Allah Ishwar Battery House — in front of Khadi Bhandar. I heard sound of gunshots, coming from about 100 metres north of my shop, where the Manjhaul O.P. is located. I immediately got out of the shop, along with my co-villager and business partner Aditya Ishwar. We saw that a Tata Sumo was coming from the northern side and Manjhaul DSP and other policemen were running behind and firing at it. Although it was dark, we could identify DSP Maheshwar Mahto himself firing at the vehicle. As they neared our shop still firing at Tata Sumo, we went back into our shop out of fear and bolted the doors.

Later, about after 30-45 minutes, we came to know that the target of the firing were the sons of late Kamta Babu of Manjhaul, who were coming from Muzaffarpur in the vehicle, and that while Rajesh Kumar and Rajni Ranjan died in the incident, the vehicle driver and Rajiv Ranjan had received injuries.

Statement of Kanhaiya Kumar Singh, S/o Kedar Prasad Singh, resident of village Manjhaul under Cheria Bariyarpur police station of Begusarai district:
I run a milk co-operative. The collection centre of the co-operative is located near Manjhaul Pustakalay Chowk. Having finished my routine work at the centre
on 23.12.2002, while I was on way to the milk co-operative superviser’s residence (near Chirag Oil) on my bicycle at about 7.45 pm. As soon as I got down from my bicycle near the residence of Superviser Mr R.K. Chanchal, I suddenly heard the sound of firings from the Manjhaul O.P. side. I hid myself inside a garage out of fear. As I peeped out, I saw a Tata Sumo vehicle rushing northward — towards Manjhaul Chowk. Some four-five armed persons were trying to chase the vehicle and firing at it continuously. They kept firing and chasing it up to Manjhaul Khadi Bhandar.

From there, while the chasers returned towards the Manjhaul O.P., the vehicle sped past towards a north-located village. In the meantime, another vehicle was coming from Begusarai side, in the headlights of which I saw Manjhaul Dy.S.P. Maheshwar Mahto. He was accompanied by four-five policemen. I also saw the Dy.SP handing over a rifle to one of the constables. They went towards the Manjhaul O.P., while I left for my residence immediately out of
fear.

When I reached near the house of late Kamta Babu, I saw there some noisy scenes, following which I went there. There I found Rajni Ranjan dead on the front seat and the body of another on the middle one. The driver and Rajiv Ranjan were injured. With help of villagers, we took the two injured persons for treatment to Dr B.K. Rai’s clinic.

Statement of Arun Kumar, S/o Brajkishore Prasad Singh, and Mrityunjay Kumar, S/o Ram Narayan Singh, both residents of Manjhaul village under Cheria Bariyarpurpolice station of Begusarai district:
The incident took place around 8-8.30 pm on Monday (23.12.2002). That day we were sitting in our office, which is located at Manjhaul Bus Stand, along with my
staff, including Mrityunjay Kumar and Baban Singh.

Suddenly, we rushed outside on hearing gunshots from Manjhaul O.P. side, and moved towards the same. I was accompanied by Mrityunjay Kumar. When we reached Veena Pustak Bhandar, which is about 100 metres from the bus
stand, we saw a Tata Sumo vehicle coming from the south and rushing towards north. Dy.S.P. Maheshwar Mahto and some policemen were running behind the
vehicle, firing at it and yelling: “Maro saale ko.” I told Mrityunjay that the Dy.S.P. is firing, let us flee. And we took to the left flank of the road and jumped into the roadside fields and got back to the road near the old O.P. at Bakhri road. When we returned from there to our office at the bus stand, we came to know that Dy.SP’s firings had killed two occupants of the vehicle while two co-travellers had got injured.

Baban Singh (an employee of Manjhaul Bus Stand), S/o Ravindra Prasad Singh, of village Maheshwara under Cheria Bariyarpur police station of Begusarai
district:
It happened on 23.12.2002 (Monday) around 8-8.30 pm. I was sitting in the bus stand office, along with contractor Arun Kumar and Mrityunjay Kumar, a bus
stand employee, besides other two-three employees. As we heard the sound of gunshots from the southern side of the bus stand (in which direction the Manjhaul O.P. is situated), contractor Arun Kumar and Mritunjay Kumar rushed towards south to take stock of the situation. Soon after, I saw a Tata Sumo vehicle, with completely broken rear windscreen, rushing northwards where the Manjhaul village is located. After half-an-hour or so, we learnt that Manjhaul Dy.S.P. Maheshwar Mahto-led police party had opened fire at the vehicle, due to which two travellers had died while another two become injured.

THE VISITING PUCL INQUIRY TEAM COULD NOT REGISTER THE STATEMENTS OF THE INJURED DRIVER OF THE ILL-FATED VEHICLE, FIROZE ALAM, AS HE WAS UNDERGOING TREATMENT AT MUZAFFARPUR.

Statement of Manjhaul O.P. Assistant Sub-inspector Ved Narayan Singh:
On 23.12.2002, around 3 O’clock, Dy.S.P. sahab,accompanied by reserve police force, had gone to Dilip Singh’s house to conduct a raid there. At about 4 pm,
the Dy.S.P sahab returned and said that he got two rounds of fire opened in the air by his men, in which no one was injured. He again left for the bus stand,
along with three armed constables, and returned. In the meantime, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Shiv Prasad Sinha had also reached the bus stand. After
instructing ASI Sinha to be on patrol there with his men, Dy.S.P sahab returned, along with the reserve force to the O.P. He had returned at 6 pm to O.P. and
at then left for his residence.

At about 7.45 pm, Shiv Prasad Sinhaji returned to the O.P. from the patrolling work. At that time, I was watching wireless messages. At 8 pm, all of a sudden,
firing started on the gate of the O.P. Three motorcycle-borne people, firing shots, then left southwards and kept firing at the S.D.O. office gate also. The O.P. policemen returned the fire. I ran up to the residence of Dy.S.P. sahab. He too heard the gunshots and his reserve force constables also returned fire from their barrack. The three motorcyle-borne criminals then returned from the nearby petrol pump. The Dy.S.P. then came after putting back his uniform and moved ahead. Since I was in civil dress, I started putting on the uniform and took my service revolver along. In the meantime, how and who fired at Tata Sumo, I could not make out. I got ready and reached the gate, and saw Dy.SP sahab inside the gate in front of the barrack. ASI Shiv Prasad Sinha, armed constables and Dy.SP sahab’s reserve force jawans were standing beside. About 40-45 minutes later, Dy.SP sahab came to know that two Tata Sumo travellers had died and other two occupants of the same vehicle had become injured.

It was he, who informed me about the incident, which I passed on to the Begusarai district headquarters on wireless.

On 24.12.2002, at around 2 pm, I received the instruction to “maintain shadow” under Cheria Bariyarpur police station case No 130/02. Since then, I have not met Dy.SP sahab. His residence is locked from 25.12.2002.

ASI Ved Narayan Singh showed two bullet marks on the western wall of the O.P. building, but denied to have found any used bullet particle from there. Two bullet
marks were also shown on the eastern corner of the northern wall of the O.P. but he again denied to have found any bullet particle from there.

He, however, admitted that bullets on Tata Sumo’s right-side gate might have been fired from the O.P. side, as the vehicle was going from south to north
direction and the O.P. is located east of the road. He also said that no bullet marks on any side of the S.D.O. office building were found.

Statement of Ram Chandra Prasad, S.D.O., Manjhaul, district Begusarai:
The incident took place around 8 pm. On 23.12.2002, I was at my residence. I first heard a gunshot, followed by many more. I got ready and sent my guard to Dy.SP sahab’s residence. When Dy.SP sahab did not come for 10-15 minutes, I myself went to his residence to wake him up. He came out after four-five minutes. By the time Dy.SP sahab reached the OP, the firing had stopped. I returned and tried to talk to DM and SP sahab. While the DM could not be contacted, I did talk to SP sahab. DSP sahab is traceless since 25.12.2002 and, therefore, have not been able to contact him till now.

Inference from the tentative sketch map of the area around the place of occurrence: It is evident from the rough sketch of the place of occurrence (PO) that the Manjhaul OP is located east of the Begusarai-Rosera road, and it falls on the right side of the road while on way to Manjhaul from Begusarai. A Tata Sumo vehicle has five gates: two in the front, of which the right one is on the right side of the driver's seat; two on the two sides of the back seat; and one opens behind the back seat.

The Tata Sumo, in which the victims were travelling, bears a hole on the right side of the driving seat, through which the bullet made its way into the driver's seat. Besides, the totally shattered rear window glass clearly suggests that the firing took place from the OP side and from behind the vehicle. The sketch makes it amply clear that if at all the firing had taken place from the left side of the road -- opposite side of the Manjhaul OP -- it would have penetrated the left door of the vehicle instead of the bullets piercing the left and right gates to re-enter from the
right side.

Self-statement of ASI Ved Narayan Singh of Manjhaul Op, under PS Cheria Bariyarpur, Dist. Begusarai,
Recorded by myself on 23.12.2002 at 20:30 hrs at Manjhaul op: My name is Ved Narayan Singh. At present, I am posted at Manjhaul Out-post (OP) as an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). Today, on 23.12.02, Monday, at 20:30 hrs at Manjhaul OP, go on record to say that today, when I was on the OP premises at 20:00 hrs, armed police force of the OP were in their barracks and ASI Shivkumar Prasad Sinha was also there. All of a sudden, several criminals on three motorcycles came from Manjhaul side to the OP gate and started indiscriminate firing — a bout 20-25 rounds — at the armed forces.

Following this, in self-defence and for the safety of arms and ammunitions, the forces returned the fire from their barracks itself. From the OP side, armed
forces’ Havildar Raghunandan Yadav fired five rounds, constable (709) Amarjeet Paswan one round, constable (645) Ajay Kumar Singh five rounds, constable (671) Rajiv Kumar four rounds and ASI Shivkumar Prasad Sinha fired four rounds with his service revolver at the motorcycle-borne criminals from the barrack. The criminals were firing with rifles, carbines and pistols and abusing the policemen. Later, the criminals left southward on their motorcycles.

After a while, gunshots were also heard from near the SDO office gate and further southward. Again, a few minutes later, the sound of criminals’ motorcycles was heard, who were still firing and proceeding towards Manjhaul. In the meantime, a Tata Sumo vehicle was seen heading northward, ahead of the motorcyclists. This vehicle was also fired at by the criminals.

Firing with sophisticated arms (as mentioned above) at the vehicle and the OP, the criminals fled towards Manjhaul. Infamous criminals Dilip Singh, S/o Ramashish Singh, of Manjhaul Purwari Tola, and Mantun Singh (father’s name not known) of Maheshwara, under Naokothi PS, were identified while some other criminals, also of Manjhaul, whose names are not known but we recognise them by face, were also seen. The criminals kept firing up to Manjhaul. However, none of us received any injury as we could not come out of the OP premises.

Then we went to the residence of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) , where Manjhaul sub-divisional officer (SDO) was also present, along with armed forces. On being called, the SDPO emerged out after putting on his uniform. By then, his armed forces had also reached there. Then constable Ajay Kumar Mishra, attached with the SDPO, informed that he had fired two rounds and constable Nawal Kishore Yadav six rounds from his first floor-located residence.

Thereafter, the SDPO, accompanied by the Manjhaul SDO, went around the SDO office premises to take stock of the situation. The criminals had fired around 40
rounds with an intent to kill the OP havildar and other officials of the sub-division. But we managed to escape unhurt.

This act of the criminals to target the policemen is a cognizable offence U/s 148/149/307/353 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. Therefore, I charge
criminals Dilip Singh, Mantun Singh and those unidentified ones under the above-mentioned Sections and hereby, start investigation of the case.

Ved Narayan Singh
23.12.2002
ASI, Manjhaul.

Forwarded to: Officer-in-charge, Cheria Bariyarpur P.S., to institute a case U/s 148/149/307/353 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. ASI Ved Narayan
Singh took up its investigation.

Ved Narayan Singh
23.12.2002
ASI, Manjhaul.

Registered with Cheria Bariyarpur PS, case No 129/02, dated 23.12.02, U/s 148/149/307/353 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. ASI B.N. Singh will,
please, investigate the case.

Ram Chandar Singh
23.12.02
S.I., C.B.R. P.S.

FIR lodged by Rajiv Ranjan, s/o late Kamta Prasad Singh, of Manjhaul, under Cheria Bariyarpur P.S. of Dist. Begusarai:

To
The Superintendent of Police,
Begusarai.

Sir,

This is to intimate you that yesterday, on 23.12.2002, I, along with Rajni Ranjan, S/o Late Kamta Prasad Singh, of Manjhaul, Rajesh Kumar, S/o Late Devendra,
of Fakuli village under Karahni PS of Muzaffarpur district, and Viranjan Kumar, S/o Rajendra Singh, of Saankhmohan village under Vibhutipur PS, were coming
in a Tata Sumo vehicle, bearing registration No BR-06E-2786, from Muzaffarpur. The vehicle driver was Md. Firoze Alam, of Bairiya in Muzaffarpur district. Around 8-8:15 pm, as soon as our vehicle neared the Manjhaul OP, we saw in the vehicle headlights Dy.SP Maheshwar Mahto and three-four policemen standing with rifles on the right flank of the road. No sooner did the vehicle become slow at the speed-breaker, than one of the constables said: “Sir, there are five people in the vehicle.” At it, the Dy.SP said: “Shoot them,” and opened fire himself from
his rifle. We were taken aback as 20-22 bullets were rained from the right and the rear sides of the vehicle. Bullets left Rajesh dead on the middle seat
and Rajni Ranjan on the front one.

The driver was also hit in the back. An on-foot co-villager Kanhaiya Prasad, S/o Kedar Prasad Singh, a local bus stand contractor Arun Kumar, and Mrityunjay Kumar, S/o R.N.P. Singh, among others, were a witness to the entire sequence of events. However, the driver somehow brought the vehicle home despite his being injured. From there, he was taken to Dr B.K. Rai for treatment. He is struggling for life at a Begusarai-based doctor’s clinic.

The Manjhaul Dy.SP intentionally opened fire and asked the policemen to open fire and got killed Rajni Ranjan and my friend Rajesh. He also tried to get me and our driver killed by opening fire at us, in which we only sustained injuries.

That is why, I am handing this application over to you and the district magistrate on your visit here. Necessary legal action is requested.

Yours faithfully

S/d
Rajiv Ranjan Singh
S/O Late Kamta Prasad Singh
Resident of Manjhaul
P.S. - Cheria Bariyarpur
Dated: 24.12.02

For officer-in-charge, Cheria Bariyarpur P.S.

Register the case immediately U/s 302/307/34 of the IPC. Charges against the gazetted officer are of serious nature. Therefore, investigation of the case
would be done by ASP Mr Ganesh Kumar, IPS.

S/d
Date: 24.12.02
S.P., Begusarai

Registered Cheria Bariyarpur PS case No 130/02, dated 24.12.02 U/s 302/307/34 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act.

S/d
(Ramchander Singh)
S.I., Police
C.B.R. P.S.
24.12.02.

Point-wise analysis of the sequence of events by the PUCLinvestigation team:

Vital clues in the self-statement of the informant on the exchange of fire between the armed forces and the criminals:-

(a) The fact that the criminals fired 20-25 rounds and the policemen 19 rounds of fire is not corroborated either by the eye-witness accounts or chance/nearby
witnesses or the circumstantial evidence. In fact, this crime report itself appears concocted, embellished and an after-thought with a view to give a new twist to the cold-blooded murder by the Manjhaul SDPO.

(b) The informant has said in his self-statement that the criminals soon after returned towards the Manjhaul village firing and on the Sumo vehicle. It is worth
pointing out here that the sound of firing with rifles and carbines can be heard in a radius of at least 1-1/2 km in the silence of the night. It is common sense that no one will proceed further after hearing gunfire, that too when the traveller knows that he is close to some PS/OP. In the depicted situation, one would rather rush into the PS/OP premises for safety instead of driving on towards the village. Therefore, there is, apparently, no reason not to consider the police version doubtful, concocted and an after-thought.

(c) The informant in his FIR says that the criminals opened fire to inflict death and damage on the police force, but the FIR is silent about the motive of opening fire on the ill-fated Sumo.

(d) The self-statement has been recorded at 3.30 am in the night. It is a matter of surprise and shame that that neither the SDO nor SDPO nor ASI nor the reserve
guards -- numbering about 30 in all, going by the FIR -- deemed it fit to chase the miscreants, and instead, chose to lodge the case barely 10 minutes after the
incident!

It is indicative of gross negligence of duty on the part of the police, and prima facie, appears to be a well-planned act meant to conceal their own criminal lapse. It is amply clear also from the fact that ASI Ved Narayan Singh, apart from being the informant of case No. 129/02, happens to be its investigating officer as well. Not just that, he is also the eye-witness as well as material witness in the same case.

(e) The informant's statements, as given in the FIR and the one he made before the PUCL investigating team, lack uniformity. Besides, the statement of the Manjhaul SDO before the team does not gel with the informants' versions. This clearly suggests that these facts have been presented only to shield the guilty official, and therefore, are suspect in nature.

(f) FIR No 130/02; informant Rajiv Ranjan, an injured eye-witness: The FIR lodged by an injured eye-witness, Rajiv Ranjan, following the SP's recommendation presents a brief and authentic account of the sequence of events. Its authenticity is established by the fact that this petition was approved and recommended after the primary verification of the facts by the DM and the SP on the spot. Had the SP not been convinced prima facie, he would not have at all ordered for FIR against his own official U/s 302 and 307 of the IPC. It has been the investigative team’s experience that the SP has, otherwise, neither looked into nor acted upon the complaints of police excesses.

(g) The Begusarai DM and SP, in their report sent to the Home Secretary, Government of Bihar, and DGP-cum-IGP, Bihar, Patna, have described this case
after prima facie investigation to be apparently one of MURDER. Both officials have stated in their report that the firing resorted to by the Dy.SP and the reserve police was unreasonable and uncalled for. The Dy.SP’s conduct has been stated to be suspect and suggestive of carelessness towards duty. And that is why, they have strongly recommended his transfer from the district and disciplinary action against him. Even so, they have, in a way, tried to shield the Dy.SP, as he was neither arrested nor was his suspension recommended in this report.

(h) There has been a serious lapse in preparing the Inquest Report. Firstly, the official ­ Circle Officer (CO), Cheria Bariyarpur -- preparing the report did not himself see the bodies of the victims nor did he mention the bodies lying amid blood and gore inside the vehicle in his report.

A viewing of the recorded CD clearly shows that the Cheria Bariyarpur CO was preparing the report on the briefing of Begusarai Town PS in-charge Shyamakant Jha, keeping his papers on the bonnet of the said Tata Sumo. The CD recording also shows the bodies lying amid blood and gore inside the vehicle. But this finds no mention in the report. The PUCL team also found the vehicle full of blood stains even two days after the incident, i.e. 25.12.2002.

(i) Is the Manjhaul Dy.SP, who lives near the Manjhaul campus, in the habit of recording even small details, like being unwell and his movements to and from the campus? If it is not a regular practice, then how come he made an entry about his illness in the station diary on 23.12.2002 at 6 pm? Does this not prove misuse of his powers granted through the Police Manual to cover up his misdeed? This one and only entry about his illness in his entire career was, obviously, made after the killing incident and was meant to be used by Dy.SP Maheshwar Mahto in future in his defence. In fact, this entry was not made at 6 pm but immediately after the incident and purported to be made at the given hour.

Conclusion: Having conducted the investigation, the PUCL team has reached the conclusion by consensus that the police are fully to blame for the incident. They are now resorting to lies in their defence in respect of the graveness of the occurrence, and this by taking recourse to a factually incorrect FIR in order to shield the Dy.SP concerned, Maheshwar Mahto, and the police force involved.

The truth regarding the bullet marks on the vehicle ­ either on its right or rear side ­ is misleading and contradicts the police theory of firing at it by the supposed criminals, coming from the Begusarai side, since in that case, the bullet marks would have been on the left side of the vehicle. Broken rear window clearly suggests that the vehicle was fired at from behind and not from the left side of the OP, as claimed by the informant. This is a clear-cut case of the autocratic and high-handed attitude of the police. Also, no resident of Manjhaul came out in support of the police version and people rather seemed shocked by the misdeed of the keepers of the law.

Had there been any effort to stop the already slowing down vehicle near the speed-breaker, they would have well done it, and if at all that had not worked, the police would have chased it. But the statements of the eye-witnesses indicate that in place of trying to stop the vehicle, the police straightaway opened fire at it, causing death of two persons and injury to two other co-travellers. The police showed undue alacrity in opening fire. This is an indication of gross misuse of power, aimed at spreading terror among the populace. The motive of the police does not appear to be either checking vehicle or arresting criminals, but to kill people at will. It is the considered opinion of the investigating team that Dy.SP Maheshwar Mahto and other members of the force had opened fire with the intent to kill the victims, and not under some compulsion to maintain law and order, nor to arrest any suspected criminal.

The photographs of the deceased show without any doubt that they were shot at from close range and vital parts of their body, like head, were aimed at ­ neither was there any attempt to puncture the tyres of the Tata Sumo nor were the lower parts of the victims’ bodies aimed at. One of the injured persons got hit in the right arm, while the other, the driver, in the back. It is sheer chance that the two escaped injuries in their vital parts and survived. Still, such was the impact of the bullets that they pierced the glass and the seat before hitting them. They are so gravely injured that their treatment was not possible in Bihar and therefore, their cases were referred to Delhi.

Recommendation: Considering the heinous crime of the Manjhaul Dy.SP and other policemen as cold-blooded murder of two innocent civilians and an attempt to murder the other two, this investigation team strongly recommends that the accused police official and the other police personnel be arrested and criminal proceedings initiated against them. The PUCL team considers this misdeed as a true case of serious violation of human rights and police atrocity, and recommends that the next of kin of both deceased be paid Rs 10 lakh each and those of the injured be paid Rs 5 lakh each.

The team has an apprehension that if the perpetrators of this crime are not suspended from service and put behind bars immediately, the cases against them would be adversely affected. Therefore, the team recommends that suitable action towards suspension and arrest of all the accused be taken without any further delay.

The way the investigation of this heinous and hair-raising murder is being carried on appears to be a violation of the basic principals of criminal jurisprudence and a bid to cover up the dastardly act to safeguard the Manjhaul Dy.SP and his reserve force. The team feels that the case in question be recommended by the state government to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) or any other Central agency to ensure a free and fair investigation.

Arun Kumar (State Vice-President, PUCL, Bihar)

Ramashray Prasad Singh (President, Begusarai District
PUCL, and Member, National Council, PUCL)

Ram Naresh Sharma (Member, State Council, PUCL, Bihar)

Text translation into English by Nirmal Anshu Ranjan
(nirmalanshuranjan@yahoo.co.uk)

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