The administration in Bihar is deplorable. The senior police officers, who were entrusted with the task of enforcing the rule of the law, have been violating it with impunity and getting away with it too.

In the latest instance, at least 18 IPS officers have been found to have “walked away” with their service revolvers, even after they retired or were sent on Central deputation.

Rules

As per the rule, an IPS officer, if shifted to another cadre, or transferred on Central deputation, should have deposited his or her service revolver in the malkhana, and obtained the no-objection certificate before moving out of the State.

Guilty

By the Government’s own admission, several Bihar IPS officers have been found guilty on this front.
“Some of the IPS officers were shifted to Jharkhand cadre, while others were sent on Central deputation. The rest have retired but are still in the possession of official revolvers,” said Energy Minister Bijendra Yadav.

Report

He submitted a report on the issue in the State legislature.

He, however, refused to release the names of police officers responsible for the misdeed.

The matter came to light when an investigation began in the theft of AK-47 rifles from the headquarters of Bihar Military Police (BMP) at Muzaffarpur recently.

Review

When asked why no action had been taken against the accused IPS officers, the Minister said, “A thorough review of the matter has been ordered, and once the inquiry report comes, strict action will be taken against all of them,” Yadav said, adding that more names could figure in the list of such IPS officers.