published by, Poorva Joshi
Last Update: March 22, 2023, 23:58 IST
The SP said that four to five policemen had gone to execute the non-bailable warrant against Bhushan Pandey (IANS Photo)
Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Babulal Marandi termed the alleged crime as “heinous” and demanded immediate registration of an FIR in the matter.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered an inquiry after a newborn baby died after he was allegedly crushed by police boots during a raid in Jharkhand’s Giridih district in the early hours of Wednesday.
The alleged incident, which took place in Koshodinghi village under Deori police station, when policemen went to a house to arrest two people in connection with a case, has led to opposition BJP demanding suspension of senior officers.
“It is alleged that a four-day-old baby died when the police went there to execute two non-bailable warrants issued by the court. Prima facie no external injury marks were found on the child’s body. It has been sent for postmortem,” Giridih Superintendent of Police Amit Renu told PTI.
The SP said that after the postmortem report comes, the police will be in a position to say what exactly happened.
He said the post-mortem would be done by a team of doctors with proper videography under the supervision of a magistrate.
“As of now, we do not have any information that the infant was crushed by any policeman. If the allegations are found to be true, the guilty personnel will not be spared.”
The SP said that four to five police personnel had gone to get a non-bailable warrant served against Bhushan Pandey, grandfather of the deceased child, and another person.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered an inquiry into the incident after a video went viral in which a man, apparently Bhushan Pandey, is seen alleging that police personnel raided his house at 3.20 am and did not open the door When it opened, he opened the door using force.
“I ran and the women also came out. When the four-day-old child was sleeping there, the policemen started searching the house. The child was crushed to death,” claimed the man in the video.
Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Babulal Marandi termed the alleged crime as “heinous” and demanded immediate registration of an FIR in the matter besides suspension of senior officials who did not act immediately.
“Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji, have some shame. Send a team of senior officers from Ranchi. First of all get an FIR lodged and send the policemen who killed the newborn to jail… Otherwise, you too will not be saved from the sin of ‘government murder’ of a four-day-old baby.
Raising this issue in the Jharkhand Assembly, CPI-ML MLA Vinod Kumar Singh demanded a thorough investigation into the incident and strict action against the police if the incident is found to be true.
“This is appalling. The guilty, if found right, should not be spared. Police raiding teams should be sensitive to women and children and exercise caution.”
Ruling JMM MLA from Giridih Sudivya Kumar said, ‘We are waiting for the postmortem report. If it is confirmed that the child died under the police boot, then strict action will be taken against the culprits.” Congress MLA Irfan Ansari said action will be taken if the incident is found to be true.
So far no police officer has been able to provide details about the exact case against the accused for which the raid was conducted.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)