Driver of BJP MLA claims assault by Bihar cop, police deny

Patna: The driver of a BJP MLA from Bihar's Hajipur and a relative of a Union Minister of State for home has alleged that a police sub-inspector assaulted him in Vaishali district, who, on the contrary, claimed that the public thrashed him.

The incident took place on Monday evening.

The district police, however, contradicted the claim of the victim and said the public beat him.

The victim is identified as Chandan Kumar, a resident of Sadulpur village. He sustained skull injuries and was admitted to Sadar hospital Hajipur.

Chandan, while interacting with the media persons in Hajipur Sadar hospital, said that he was on his way to Jadua locality in Hajipur on a bike and was caught in a traffic snarl at Karnpur Chowk.

At the same time, a sub-inspector named Arvind Kumar of Mahnar police station reached there and asked him to give side. Chandan showed inability to give passage to him due to a traffic jam at the place and no space was available there for the vehicle to move. The victim's inability to move his vehicle made the sub-inspector furious.

“That sub-inspector snatched the keys of my bullet bike. I objected to this, following which he took me to an underground place near the Karnpur Chowk and brutally thrashed me leading to bleeding from my head,” Kumar claimed.

As the area came under Ganga bridge police station, the SHO of Ganga bridge reached there. He, however, had another version about this incident.

“There was a huge snarl at the Karnpur Chowk and Arvind Kumar who is deployed at the Mahnar police station was returning from the district court Hajipur. As he was stuck in a traffic jam, he parked his vehicle on the roadside and went there to remove the traffic gridlock. He also asked that person Chandan Kumar, who is a driver of BJP MLA Awadesh Kumar and also a relative of MoS home Nityanand Rai to move.

"Chandan was in a drunken stage and misbehaved with the S-I Arvind Kumar. The public saw that a S-I was making efforts to remove the gridlock and a person was abusing him, they objected to the act of Chandan Kumar. As he also attacked the public, they became angry and assaulted him,” Pankaj Kumar, the SHO of Ganga bridge police station said.

“After that incident, S-I Arvind Kumar helped him and took him to the Sadar hospital for treatment. Chandan was in a drunken state. When we asked him to undergo a breath analysis and blood test to ascertain alcohol level, he refused. We again went on Tuesday morning to take his blood sample, but he refused,” the SHO said.