Bihar: Triumph For Speaker As CM Nitish Kumar Appoints New Lakhisarai DSP After Criticism

Earlier this week, the Chief Minister and the Speaker locked horns in the Bihar Assembly on this issue.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (File Pic)

New Delhi: Days after exchanging verbal volleys with Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on the Lakhisarai controversy, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the occasion of Holi on Friday issued orders appointing Syed Imran Masood as the region’s new Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

This development comes after weeks as then DSP Ranjan Kumar was shunted from his post the controversy in Lakhisarai related to a cultural programme organised on the occasion of Saraswati Puja where thousands had gathered, flouting the Covid-19 norms.

Earlier this week, the Chief Minister and the Speaker locked horns in the Bihar Assembly on this issue.

Accusing the Speaker of “unconstitutional conduct”, Kumar alleged that he trying to interfere with the ongoing probe in the Lakhisarai case.

“Is this how you run the house? Will you repeatedly raise questions (on the Lakhisarai matter) in the house,” he said in the Bihar Assembly on March 14.

The Speaker excused himself from the chair post the Chief Minister’s remarks.

Controversy:

The local police arrested two people, who were part of the audience, and sent them to jail when a video of the violation of Covid-19 protocols went viral on social media.

The police, however, did not initiate any action against the event organisers and the local officials present there.

The Lakhisarai DSP and two SHOs Dilip Kumar Singh (Birupur) and Sanjay Kumar Singh (Barhaiya) were removed from their posts after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs moved a privilege notice against them for violating the protocol and their alleged misconduct with the Speaker.

The Speaker, who is the MLA from Lakhisarai, alleged that the three police officials misbehaved with him when he raised this issue.

Sinha then took potshots at the Bihar government over the alleged wrongful imprisonment of the two persons and demanded action against the three police officials involved in this act.