Raid on senior Postal Officer’s house yielded no liquor; excise commissioner goes on leave
Patna,(BiharTimes): Even as excise commissioner K K Pathak has gone on long leave after the arrest and subsequent bail of the excise inspector Deepak Kumar Singh in Biharsharif early this month, police on raided the house of Chief Post Master (GPO), Abhijit Bhattacharya late on Tuesday evenining on a false tip off that he was throwing a party where liquor was being served.
The raid has not only left the victim in a state of shock, but has once again landed the state government machinery in an embarrassing situation. This is the second instance of misuse of the new excise law in just over a week time.
Reports said that the police raided the house and virtually ransacked the place, but found not a single bottle of liquor.
“I am shocked and feel harassed. It was an ordeal for me and I can not sleep the whole night,” Bhattacharya was quoated in Hindustan Times as saying.
The search was led by Sanjay Verma, the SHO of S K Puri police station and lasted for half an hour. The police surrounded the house at 7:30 PM soon after getting a tip off from excise control room.
However, it could find nothing.
The officer, who had joined Patna in June last, said he never drink. Bhattacharya has not lodged an FIR, but has informed his superiors in the Postal department.
According to Ahmad Adnan, Director (Headquarters), Department of Posts, Patna, the department has initiated an internal inquiry into the incident and would neet the police top brass seeking their intervention.
SSP Manu Maharaj said that from now on he had asked the officers to take the City SP and DSP into confidence before carrying out a raid.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has criticized the government for unleashing a reign of terror in the name of excise raids.
