Jharkhand: FIR Against 500 CRPF Personnel For 'Violating' Prohibitory Orders During CM Hemant Soren's Questioning

In a dramatic turn of events in Jharkhand, an FIR has been lodged against 500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel for allegedly violating prohibitory orders.

The FIR was filed on Sunday (21 January) evening, following the questioning of Chief Minister Hemant Soren for over seven hours in a money laundering case.

As reported by Indian Express, the charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 188 (disobedience to order by public servant) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) are listed in the FIR.

The allegations include a lack of coordination with the district administration regarding the CRPF deployment and the violation of prohibitory orders (Section 144, CrPC) by CRPF personnel.

“We registered an FIR Sunday at the instance of one of duty magistrates overseeing the law-and-order situation in Ranchi Saturday when CM Soren was questioned. The allegations are that there was no coordination with the district administration for CRPF deployment. Also, CRPF personnel violated prohibitory orders (Section 144, CrPC)," Ranchi SP Chandan Sinha was quoted as saying in the IE report.

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A press release issued by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) general secretaries Supriyo Bhattacharya and Vinod Pandey accused the Central government of orchestrating a premeditated conspiracy to destabilize the state government.

The release claimed that the incident was a "cowardly attack on the federal structure."

A CRPF official, speaking anonymously, clarified, "We were there at the behest of the ED, and they had given it to us in writing. There is nothing more to it."

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Babulal Marandi has accused the state government of attempting to misuse police to intimidate the central agency and central security forces.

He stated, "CRPF officers came to protect the ED officers and to protect them from hired people armed with bows and arrows. This attempt to misuse police power will prove costly."

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