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Journalism of Courage
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has stressed that Bihar will now witness the ‘‘rule of law’’. However, when an administrative official on duty today tried to do just that, he was beaten up allegedly by none other than a minister.
Bihar Administrative Services officer Deepak Kumar Agrawal, on magisterial duty at the Assembly, was allegedly assaulted by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh and his men for having ‘‘dared’’ to prevent the minister’s car from entering without a pass.
Singh, while denying that he had assaulted Agrawal, has instead accused the official of misbehaving with him, though TV footage shows him holding Agrawal by the lapels and men around him slapping the official. However, the minister said, ‘‘He should be suspended. It seems the magistrate is suffering from the hangover of decades of misrule in the state.’’
The matter created a flutter when Agrawal reportedly lodged a complaint against the minister. Thereafter, it seems damage control began, for, policemen who confirmed in the afternoon that an FIR had been registered, denied it a short while later.
DSP (Secretariat) Arshad Zaman said a complaint of ‘‘misbehaviour’’ was lodged by Agrawal against the minister and the police were investigating. In the same breath, he added the complaint was being withdrawn by Agrawal.
Agrawal could not be contacted.
If Agrawal had prevented the minister’s entry, he was only doing his duty, going by an advertisement placed by the Assembly Secretariat that said only newly elected MLAs with certificates from the election officer would be allowed into the Assembly premises.
Singh is not a member of the Assembly. He had not contested the Assembly elections. He was given a ministerial berth by Nitish Kumar. Singh had defected from the LJP and joined the JD(U) before the polls. In the past, Singh had allegedly assaulted a BDO in his constituency.
