Two police personnel in Jharkhand’s Latehar district have been suspended following allegations by a 33-year-old Adivasi woman that she was beaten and hung upside down during police custody. The action came after Chief Minister Hemant Soren directed the district police to investigate her complaint.
The suspended personnel are Prabhat Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Bariatu police station, and Constable Manish Kumar Ram, who worked as a CCTNS operator at the station. Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav said departmental proceedings had also been initiated against them following preliminary findings of procedural lapses. The allegations of assault and sexual harassment are being investigated separately.
The woman, identified in reports as Puniya Devi, is a resident of Melam Tola in the Herhanj block of Latehar district. In a complaint submitted to the SP, she alleged that police personnel detained her on October 5 while she was grazing goats near Bagnadi Mahua. According to her complaint, the personnel accused her of involvement in illegal opium-related activities and took her to Bariatu police station. She alleged that she was tied up, suspended upside down and beaten with sticks.
Puniya further alleged that she was pressured to record a video statement claiming involvement in illegal poppy cultivation. Her family also claimed that ₹80,000 kept at their home as savings for an upcoming wedding was taken by the police. These allegations have not yet been independently established.
Police Cite Suspected Opium Possession
The police have offered a separate account of the events leading to the woman’s detention.
According to the SP, Das had received information that Puniya’s husband, Mukesh Ganjhu, and another man, identified as Pintu Yadav, were allegedly involved in the illegal sale of opium. A team was subsequently sent to the area to verify the information and recover the suspected contraband.
Police said Puniya was present at the location with the two men and that opium was found in her possession. According to the police account, she allegedly bit Constable Ram’s hand and snatched a packet of opium before handing it to Yadav, who fled with it. The police account does not, by itself, resolve the allegations of mistreatment made in the woman’s complaint.
Procedural Lapses Under Investigation
The preliminary inquiry also found that the raid and recovery proceedings had been conducted without the presence of a gazetted officer or magistrate, which the police said was required under the applicable provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The SP said the two personnel were suspended in view of the procedural lapses identified during the initial inquiry. A separate investigation into the woman’s allegations is under way, and further action will depend on the findings. The case has raised questions about police conduct during operations involving suspected narcotics offences. The inquiry is expected to examine both the circumstances of the raid and the allegations concerning the woman’s treatment in custod
