Supaul (Bihar): The death of four youngsters in Bihar's Supaul shook the city on Sunday as people protested against the police officials after the kin of the deceased alleged that cops did not inform them about the deaths.
As per the inputs received from the ground, police officials recovered four bodies at the Indo-Nepal border area in Virpur Nagar Panchayat at around 10 pm on Saturday. The deceased were identified as Ravi Karki (20), Hrithik Kumar (22), Rohit Thapa (21), and Rohit Thakur(21), all residents of Nagar Panchayat Ward 10 in Supaul.
While the cause of the death is yet to be ascertained, the kin of the deceased alleged that the cops did not follow the procedure after recovering the dead bodies on Saturday night. The families alleged that they were not informed about the deaths, and the bodies were sent for post-mortem without their knowledge. "We have no clue how my brother died. It could be an accident or a murder.
There are no records of the body at the hospital, nor were we informed about the death. The DSP and SDO both made the bodies disappear overnight without informing us. This makes us suspicious. We want an FIR registered against both of them for not following the procedure," said Sachin Kumar, the brother of one of the dead youngsters.
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As per the rules, police officials are supposed to consult the family or relatives of a dead person before going ahead with the post-mortem. In this case, however, the officials, after "recovering" the four bodies, shifted them to Sadar Hospital in Supaul for postmortem without consulting the concerned families.
"As per the rules, the body is not sent for post-mortem without the relatives' knowledge. We demand that the matter be probed by the CBI. We also request the DM and SP to come and investigate the case. The families must get justice," said Sushil Vaish, a local social worker. The matter has put the Veerpur police officials in a difficult position, with speculation of their involvement in the deaths rife among the families of the deceased as well as the local masses.
Dev Bahadur Karki, the father of another deceased, said he was completely oblivious about the death until he came to know that his son's car and mobile phone were in police's possession. "By the time the news of my son's death reached me, his body was already sent for post-mortem. We still have not been given the body," he said. "Today, it is my son, tomorrow it could be yours. The administration must answer us," he said.
The matter caught heat after the enraged families demanded strong action against officials. Several locals and social activists have come forward in support of the families. The Virpur Gol Chowk saw violent protests on Sunday morning, with people blocking border roads leading to Virpur, Nepal, and Araria. The area experienced a huge traffic jam because of the protests. The Veerpur market has also been entirely closed down.
The protesters also reached the Veerpur police station, where they vandalized police property and pelted stones. Officials had to resort to tear gas to disperse the angry crowd of protesters. No police officer has given a statement on the matter so far.
