SHO suspended for ignoring retired Patna cop

PATNA: Bypass police station SHO Ajay Kumar has been suspended by IG (central range) Sanjay Singh for not responding to retired IPS officer Ajay Kumar Verma and his son who were thrashed during a road rage incident near Khemnichak in the city on August 13. The SHO had said the area was not under his jurisdiction.

Verma, along with his son and wife, was inside his car on the roadside when it was dashed by two bike-borne youths riding without helmet.

Verma had taken the keys of the bike and called SP (traffic) for sending someone to the spot. Later, he had called SSP for help. However, none reached for Verma’s help. An FIR was lodged with Ramkrishna Nagar police station in this connection. Ramkrishna Nagar SHO Subodh Kumar on Sunday said three youths were nabbed within a day of the incident.

On August 14, Verma had told TOI that while he was in trouble, a police officer called him just to inform that the spot was not under his jurisdiction. Verma had said he did not knew who the officer was.

This happened even when SSP Garima Malik had ordered Kumar over phone to rush to the spot soon after she had received a phone call from the retired cop .

Kumar, an inspector-rank officer, is the second person to face the heat in connection with the incident. Earlier, state police headquarters had served a show-cause notice on then SP (traffic) Ajay Kumar Pandey for his failure to show seriousness and act timely when Verma had called him.

Malik said the action was taken on the City SP (east) Jitendra Kumar’s inquiry report on the incident. “On the SP’s report, I had made recommendation to IG for suspending the officer,” she said.

Malik said after receiving a phone call from the retired officer, she had called Kumar to rush to the spot to rescue him. “However, he did not visit the spot and told Verma that it was not under his jurisdiction,” she said.