Patna: The recent midnight overhauling of bureaucracy in Bihar came under fire as it followed the arrest of Gaya BJP M.P. Hari Manjhi’s son. As reported, Hari’s son Rahul Manjhi and his friend were arrested from Nama village in Gaya district on April 23, for violation of prohibition law which is enforced in the state.
Officials are not questioning the government prerogative to transfer bureaucrats, yet they appear to be upset over the manner in which Gaya SSP Garima Malik has been shunted to the post of Commandant of 10th battalion of Bihar Military Police in Patna.
Till recently Garima was considered close to the state establishment. According to reports she was expected to get the post of Muzaffarpur SSP after her batch mate (2007) Vivek Kumar was suspended in the wake of vigilance search of his residence in a disproportionate asset case. Garima was replaced by Rajeev Mishra, son in law of DGP K.S. Dwivedi.
A source within police headquarters was quoted in the media as saying: “Garima has been transferred from Gaya to delay the charge sheet against Rahul in the case lodged under relevant sections of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016.”
In fact, it is the second occasion when Rahul Manjhi has been arrested for prohibition related violation. Earlier, he was arrested from Magadh Medical college police station of the district on December 14, 2016.
Meanwhile, Hari Manjhi strongly defended his son and charged the police, instead, for implicating his son. “The police have implicated my son in the liquor case. I informed Magadh (range) deputy inspector general Vinay Kumar about the illegal sale of liquor in and around Nama village with the connivance of the police. The police instead of taking action, arrested my son and his friend,” he said on Saturday.
Another Manjhi, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram who also comes from Gaya has repeatedly raised doubts and asked why members of lower caste and Dalits are mostly being framed and put behind bars while liquor is freely available in the state.
If the source within the police headquarter is to be believed it is not the first time when Nitish Kumar government is succumbed to such pressure. A few months back liquor was recovered from the house of Harnaut Block president of JDU. Harnaut falls under CM’s native Nalanda district. The matter was hushed up.
The magnitude of transfer has also sparked off political speculation. RJD termed the transfers, ‘an election exercise’. Jitan Ram Manjhi too said that the move was carried out with early loksabha polls in mind. JD U, however, denied the allegation and said that reshufflings have been done to improve the efficiency of government.
It needs to be recalled that close to 70 IAS and IPS as well as 126 DSPs were transferred on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday Night.
