Bihar cop made to do sit-ups for asking officer to show vehicle pass

In a blatant abuse of power, a junior policeman was asked to do sit-ups on the main road when he asked an agriculture officer to show his vehicle pass. The agriculture officer, identified as Manoj Kumar, was so peeved over the ‘audacity’ of a home-guard jawan asking him to “show vehicle pass for movement during lockdown” that he ensured the cop was publicly punished.

And the punishment came in the form of sit-ups for the cop on the same highway in Araria, some 350 km from Patna, through which the agriculture officer was passing by.

In the video, which has gone viral since then, a senior police officer is heard asking the junior cop how could he ask a senior agriculture officer to show the vehicle pass…. and then starts the punishment in the form of sit-ups. The cop’s other colleague remains a mute spectator. The junior cop is then asked to publicly apologise after bowing at the feet of the agriculture officer.

The DSP concerned in Araria, however, denied that the home-guard jawan was asked to do sit-ups. “Apne se karne laga utthak-baithak (He started doing sit-ups on his own). Nobody asked him to do so,” said the police officer.

The Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey has, however, taken umbrage at the incident. “This is a quite disturbing. If any cop has done anything wrong, I should have been informed. But punishing someone publicly (apparently for no fault of his) will send a wrong message. We have apprised the government about this episode. Hope the guilty officials will be taken to task,” said the DGP.