Bihar: Boy speaks with cops in English, gets thrashed, locked-up in jail

Patna: "What is the reason behind his detention" was all he asked. Perceived as a display of arrogance, a class 12 student was thrashed by two police officers and put behind bars for three days for speaking in English in Bihar’s Khagaria district.

The two cops were suspended from service on Friday after they were found guilty of excesses.

The boy, Abhishek Kumar was admitted to the hospital with wounds on his legs and back. He had left home to visit his maternal uncle, who was in custody in a bike-theft case, according to a report in The New Indian Express.

In a bid to release his uncle, Abhishek reached Chautham police station with the owner’s book of his uncle’s bike. However, the man was not released.
Enquiring why his uncle was being kept in custody even after the documents, Abhishek asked,"What is the reason behind his detention?"

At this, the cops got furious and started beating him.

“The police officers apparently did not understand my question in English. More than that, they saw my speaking in English as a display of arrogance,” Abhishek was quoted as saying by the The New Indian Express.

A probe was ordered by DSP Ramanand Sagar which found the two policemen guilty.

Policemen in Bihar often find it difficult to read or write English and are seen discouraging people from filing complaints in English.

Last year, a Bihar Police in-charge of Kotwali police station in Munger district informed a local police court that a particular case could not be investigated because the FIR was written in English.