Death of a Deputy Superintendent of Pollce due to Police inertla: Blhar (Case No. 3 0 1 7 1 M ) Shri N.K. Singh, Member, National Executive, Samata Party in his complaint to the Commission alleged that the deeth on 8 December 1998 of Shri Satyapal Singh, DSP and a Hawaldar, in an encounter wtth a geng of criminals allegedly having links with one Mohammed Jaffar Alam, an office bearer of the Rashtriya Janta Dal, was attributable to the deliberate delay in the arrlvat of the police reinforcements from the District Headquarters. It was further alleged that the reason for the hesitation in sending additional help was because of the political influence of Mohammad Jaffar Alam. The complainant further stated that, subsequent to the killing of the DSP, the police did not make any serious effort to arrest the five accused, two of whom were reported to ham been killed subsequently in gang rivalries and that the main accused, Mohammed Jaffar Alam, was dealt with very leniently, time being given to him to surrender in the Court on 15 December 1998. Action taken under Section 82/83 Cr. P.C. was also reported to be half-hearted, in that no simultaneous proceedings were initiated for the attachment of the accused's property at Bakhtlarpur. After examining the report of Shri S.V.M. Tripathi, former DGP, UP who was requested by the Commissionto investigate the case, the Commission came to the prima-facie conclusion that the response from the District Headquarters to the request of DSP Satyapal Singh for additional reinforcements did not reflect the importance that the matter demanded. The action of the Supdt. of Police, In leaving the matter to the ASP, who reached the place of encounter with just 4-5 persons, four and a half hours after the receipt of the message, showed that the Supdt of Police had failed to realise the gravity of the situation. Shri Tripathi, in his report, had ascribed the delay in the arrival of the reinforcements to a lack of planning and urgency. However, the Commission thought that only a thorough inquiry could disclose whether the delay was deliberately caused, or had resulted from the negligence on the part of Supdt of Police and that, either way, it was a case of serious dereliction of duty in the least. Noticing that none of the five assallants involved in the case was arrested and the half-hearted action taken under Section 82183 Cr.P.C., and considering the political influence of the main accused, the Commission felt that it could reasonably be assumed that the police deliberately did not take the job seriously. Taking a serious view of the matter, the Commission noted that the death of a young DSP, in an encounter with a gang of criminals known for its alleged political links had a bearing on the morale of the pdim force, Looking into the poor account that the Supdt. of Pollce had given of his professional abilities and leadership qualities, the latter deserved to be dealt with suitably after obtaining and evaluating his reply to a show cause issued to him by the Commission on the following points: (i) His failure to realise the gravity and urgency of the request for reinforcements received from the police peuty engaged in a daring encounter with a gang of criminals equipped with sophisticated weaponry;