JOURNALIST THREATENED WITH DIRE CONSEQUECES AFTER FILMING SHO STEALING SAND

JOURNALIST THREATENED WITH DIRE CONSEQUECES AFTER FILMING SHO STEALING SAND

25-JUNE-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BHABHUA-------------------------A journalist was subjected to verbal abuse and threats—including threats of death and the filing of a false case under the SC/ST Act—by Nandu Kumar, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Kudra Police Station, after the journalist filmed him stealing sand. The victim, journalist Upendra Singh Yadav, submitted a formal complaint to Superintendent of Police (SP) Shikhar Chaudhary, seeking justice; the SP assured him that an investigation would be conducted and appropriate action taken.

 It is worth noting that vehicles seized for illegal mining and overloading are parked by the authorities at the 'Dak Bungalow' complex, located approximately 300 meters from the Kudra police station. Vehicle owners and drivers have previously alleged that parts—such as batteries, self-starters, and tires—as well as the cargo loaded on the vehicles, often go missing from this site, raising questions about the functioning of the police administration. On Wednesday, the journalist clearly witnessed the SHO using laborers to load sand from these seized vehicles onto a tractor and began recording a video of the incident. Upon realizing the theft was being exposed, SHO Nandu Kumar arrived at the scene, used abusive language, and forcibly snatched the journalist's mobile phone. Furthermore, the SHO threatened to implicate the journalist in a case under the SC/ST Act and kill him, while also attempting to force him into a vehicle. The journalist managed to escape and submitted a complaint to the SP, pleading for justice. Acting on the complaint, the SP dispatched a Police Inspector to the site and stated that action would be taken following an investigation.

The SHO also threatened other local media personnel, warning that if they published news against him, he would register cases against them and could harm them anywhere he encountered them. According to reliable sources, Station House Officer (SHO) Nandu Kumar shares a close, almost inseparable bond with individuals involved in illicit activities in the area, including the sale of narcotics. Sources allege that the SHO is himself complicit in crimes such as the smuggling of sand, liquor, and heroin, as well as theft, robbery, and other illegal operations; this collusion has allowed such illicit activities to flourish rapidly in the region. Individuals involved in these trades who fail to pay the SHO are arrested, allowing him to showcase "genuine" achievements. Furthermore, meetings between the SHO and those involved in these illicit businesses have become a common occurrence within the police station premises.

A critical question arises: when the police seize trucks on the pretext of curbing illegal sand transportation, under what rule—and whose orders—is the sand being unloaded from those very trucks? Is the seizure merely a charade to facilitate illicit personal gain?

The administration's failure to solve the majority of theft cases reported over the past year—combined with the refusal to register cases to avoid accountability and attempts to obstruct the media from reporting—suggests that the SHO's modus operandi is under serious scrutiny.