Woman IPS officer questions MLA’s charges, he says she is violating rules
GORAKHPUR: Woman IPS officer Charu Nigam posted a fresh message on her Facebook wall, raising questions over the allegations levelled against her by BJP MLA Radha Mohan Das Agarwal who purportedly rebuffed her on Sunday for police action against a group of women agitating against liquor shops here.
The MLA’s alleged behaviour had apparently left the police officer teary-eyed on Sunday though she later clarified that it was not a sign of weakness.
A day after the incident, Agarwal had accused Nigam of kicking a pregnant woman, beating up a 70-year-old woman, and pushing an eight-year-old child into a pit during Sunday’s police action.
In her fresh message, Nigam wrote: “Logic is failing its ground! Has any lathi charge that too hitting a pregnant woman & old lady so claimed ever gone uncovered.”
Nigam, circle officer at the Gorakhnath police station, reasoned that had police unleashed brutality on protesters, the incident would have not been left uncovered by the media.
Her post came hours after the alleged victims accompanied Agarwal to a press conference on Monday and backed his charges against Nigam.
She did not respond to repeated calls by HT on Tuesday.
For his part, the MLA from Gorakhpur Sadar said that Nigam taking to social media to express her outrage was a serious violation of government service rules.
“As a government official, she must be aware of the service guidelines laid down for every government employee. Taking to social media to put forth her stand is a serious violation of service guidelines. If she had differences with an MLA, she should have chosen an appropriate platform to put forth her stand on the issue,” the lawmaker told HT.
Seema, the 30-year old pregnant woman; Prince, the eightyear-old boy; and Phoola Devi, 70, had accompanied the MLA who charged police with providing patronage to the liquor mafia in Gorakhpur, during Monday’s press conference.
Agarwal has also announced a sit-in at the Gandhi statue here on May 10, demanding closure of all unlicenced liquor shops in city.