Bihar shifts out Khagaria SP Bhanu Pratap Singh after wife files harassment complaint

The Bihar government on Wednesday transferred Khargaria superintendent of police (SP) Bhanu Pratap Singh after his wife complained against him to the state’s director general of police, accusing him of harassment.

An order issued by the home department on Wednesday said Singh, a 2021-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been posted at police headquarters. Sheohar SP Shailendra Singh has been told to take charge from Bhanu Pratap.

Sachivalaya sub-divisional police officer-1 Anu Kumari said the complaint filed by his wife, Pooja Singh, was under investigation. “We have received the complaint, but no FIR has been lodged so far. The matter is under investigation,” she said, according to a PTI report on Tuesday.

The news agency said Pooja Singh also staged a dharna outside the chief minister’s residence in Patna a few days ago. She has alleged that her husband was not allowing her to speak to their six-year-old daughter.

Pooja Singh said she had approached the state DGP and the state’s women’s commission about the harassment.

The Bihar State Women’s Commission has also summoned Bhanu Pratap Singh to respond to his wife’s allegations. The commission has asked its officials to look into the complaint and submit a report within three days.

Bhanu Pratap Singh was not available for comment.

Pooja Singh told reporters on Tuesday that they got married in 2016 when Bhanu Pratap Singh, a 2021-batch IPS officer, was still a civil services aspirant. “I don’t want a divorce. It is my wish to make a fresh start with my husband and our daughter. If he is amenable to reason, I am willing to withdraw my police complaint,” she told reporters, according to the PTI report.