On Wednesday (June 23), the Bihar government paid a compensation of ₹10 lacs to the father of 18-year-old Anurag Poddar. Anurag Poddar, the 18-year-old. died due to police brutality during the Durga idol immersion in October last year.
According to District Magistrate (Munger) Navin Kumar, Poddar’s father Amarnath came to his office on Wednesday. An amount of ₹10 lacs was then transferred to his bank account and he was provided with a compensation letter. Hindustan Times, however, reported that the Munger DM had handed over a cheque of ₹10 lacs to the victim’s father.
Kumar informed, “We offered him help in getting a loan on a priority basis for expanding his hardware shop business. However, Amarnath told us that he doesn’t need a loan.”
The development comes days after the Supreme Court dismissed the special leave petition (SLP) by the Bihar government, wherein it challenged the order of the Patna High Court. It must be mentioned that the Patna High Court had noted that the State was duty-bound to protect its citizen and pay a compensation of ₹10 lacs to the victim’s family.
Bihar govt had no choice but to compensate the family of Anurag Poddar: Lawyer
Lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, who is representing Amarnath Poddar in the Supreme Court, said that the Bihar government was left with no choice but to compensate the victim’s father. He added, “The CID is expected to reply if the then Munger SP, Lipi Singh, has been quizzed and sub-inspector Brajesh Singh nabbed. It’s also expected to file a report on further progress made in the investigation.”
He also pointed out how the Patna High Court was dissatisfied with the probe conducted by the CID in the case. Initially, Amarnath Poddar had demanded ₹5 crores as compensation for his son’s death.
Munger firing incident: Background of the case
On October 26, 2020, during the Bihar assembly election campaign, the famous Shadipur Badi Durga procession for Visarjan was attacked and allegedly fired upon by police officials. Though the police had denied firing and had claimed that the shots were fired by some members of the crowd, those claims were later dismissed by CISF.
The police had beaten up the devotees who were taking the idol for immersion. Video footage of police brutally lathi-charging devotees who were trying to shield the huge idol and pandal had created a furore on social media. In the violence that ensued, shots were also fired and the 18-year-old Anurag had lost his life. Several other persons were injured in the police brutality.
