Allegation of misuse of 41-A CrPC against Jorhat Police

From a Correspondent

JORHAT, March 24: Notorious crimil-turned-businessman Om Prakash Tiwari and his son Amit Tiwari have a past record of being allegedly involved in heinous crimes like kidpping of Rekhamoni Das of Golaghat and the rape of Rekhamoni’s 11-year old minor girl Shilpi Das and the minor’s murder at a place called Nokha in Bikaner in Rajasthan on January 2007. They were  subsequently arrested and jailed.

The duo has of late once again gained the confidence of Jorhat Police which failed to arrest the main accused Om Prakash Tiwari but instead let him away under 41-A CrPC on a written note that the businessman would make himself available whenever called for the sake of investigation in the case registered by Jorhat Police based on an FIR lodged by the Seizing Officer of the Assistant Commissioner of the Sales Tax office in Jorhat, wherein the Seizing Officer alleged that Om Prakash Tiwari not only obstructed on-duty government officials from carrying out a raid at M/s Tiwari Brothers, of which he is the owner, but also physically assaulted Sales Tax officers by stching the sack containing uccounted receipts of suppressed sale from the custody of Superintendent of Taxes Satyajit Bhuyan.

Talking to The Sentinel, the (Investigating Officer (IO) Tulumoni Duwara said, “A Jorhat PS case number 601/2015 was registered U/S 352, 353, 294, 506 IPC based on an FIR lodged by Sales Tax officials against Om Prakash Tiwari and accordingly after initial investigation we first took the statement of Om Prakash Tiwari’s son Amit Tiwari,  then a worker of the shop who was present on the day of the incident and filly the father himself but despite IPC 353 being a non-bailable section, the IO can refrain from arresting the accused person under 41-A CRPC on grounds that the accused will make himself present when called for. As such 41-A is applicable under those sections of the Indian Pel Code where the maximum punishable imprisonment is below 7 years.”

However, other police sources have disclosed that after the joining of the present Jorhat Superintendent of Police, Amanjeet Kaur from February 1, 2014 till March 1, 2015 people accused in 88 cases of trifle matters related to verbal threatening, street fights and other petty crimes under the purview of bailable sections of the IPC had been sent to jail custody. Many of them come from poor fincial background and are still languishing in the Jorhat District Jail.

There is a widespread resentment among the public against the police for allegedly favouring persons with known crimil record while violating the basic human rights of the poor people. Many conscious citizens have opined that law should be equal for all and questions are being raised over the functioning of the district police force which has been reduced to a mere spent force. The SP has, however, assured to file the fil chargesheet in the case within two days.

Accused businessman Om Prakash Tiwari, who had also lodged an FIR against the Sales Tax officials accusing them of harassment owing to the raid, is now learnt to be in the process of pleading his case with the tax officials once let free by the Jorhat Police. Sources at the Tax office in Jorhat said that the present assessment of tax and pelty of M/s Tiwari Brothers stood at Rs 1.18 lakh. However, according to sources, on the day of the raid the sack due to which there was a scuffle, contained receipts of suppressed sale amounting to a few crores of rupees.

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