Two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers were suspended by the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday.
The Bihar home department issued orders to suspend Daya Shankar, a 2014 batch IPS officer posted as superintendent of police, Purnia district, and his senior, 2011 bach IPS officer Aditya Kumar.
Aditya Kumar’s suspension comes just two days after the economic offences unit of Bihar registered a case against him and his associate who called up the state director general of police SK Singhal posing as the Patna high court chief justice Sanjay Karol and advised Singhal to scrap a case registered against Kumar. On Monday, the Bihar police said the man accused of making the phone call, Abhishek Agrawal had been arrested.
Officials said the suspension orders were issued after a call from chief minister Nitish Kumar who inquired about the action taken against the Purnia district SP following the vigilance raid a week ago.
The vigilance raids at locations linked to Daya Shankar were the third instance of the special vigilance unit acting against an IPS officer since the unit was set up in 2006. The first IPS officer to come under the special unit’s radar was former director general of police Narayan Mishra in 2007.
According to the SVU, officials seized ₹2.96 lakh cash and jewellery worth ₹28 lakh from Daya Shankar’s residence in Purnia, ₹1.52 lakh cash from his two flats and a shop on Biscuit Factory Road at Danapur in Patna.
Additional director general (SVU) NH Khan said Daya Shankar alleged acquired huge immovable property in his and his wife’s names in Patna. “The SP’s personal staff, officers, bodyguards and others are also involved in his money-minting pursuit,” Khan alleged, adding.
That the sleuths also raided residences of SP’s close associates, including SHO of Sadar police station Sanjay Kumar Singh, the SP’s aide Niraj Kumar Singh, constable Sawan Kumar and a builder Sanjeev Kumar.
The SVU also accused Daya Shankar of spending ₹67 lakh on the interiors of his flat.
Tuesday’s home department order on Aditya Kumar who was posted as Assistant Inspector General (Inspection), cited a case registered against him by economic offences unit to pressure the police chief to take administrative decisions that favour the IPS officer.