Rajasthan SHO suicide: Police personnel ask for transfer citing ‘false complaints’ by MLA

The opposition has demanded a CBI probe into the death, alleging that local politicians and other officials were responsible for the suicide of police inspector Vishnu Dutt Bishnoi.

A day after a police inspector in Rajasthan’s Churu district committed suicide, state crime branch has taken over the probe and an FIR has been registered against unknown accused under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC.

The opposition has demanded a CBI probe into the death, alleging that local politicians and other officials were responsible for the suicide of police inspector Vishnu Dutt Bishnoi, who was posted as the station house officer (SHO) of Rajgarh police station in Churu.

Bishnoi, whose body was found hanging at his government quarters in Rajgarh on Saturday, had cited stress as the reason in his suicide note.

“An FIR has been registered under Section 306 of the IPC against unknown accused and the investigation is being conducted by the CID-CB. Our team, led by SP Vikas Sharma is in Rajgarh, conducting the probe after taking into consideration all information including those surfaced on social media,” Additional Director General of Police, Crime, BL Soni told The Indian Express on Sunday.

Following the incident, screenshots of an alleged chat between Bishnoi and a lawyer were widely circulated on social media, in which Bishnoi allegedly mentioned his wish for voluntary retirement due to “dirty politics” aimed at trapping him.

Soni confirmed that personnel at the Rajgarh police station have submitted an application to the Inspector General of Police Bikaner Range, requesting him to transfer them elsewhere.

In the letter, which has the sign of several staff members of the police station, it has been mentioned that “Sadulpur MLA and her volunteers make false complaints against the police station staff to senior police officials and recently four staff members were sent to the police lines in Churu after they fell victims of false complaints.”

BJP leaders, including deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, have accused Congress MLA from Sadulpur, Krishna Poonia, of “pressurising” Bishnoi and have asked her role to be investigated by an independent probe.

Earlier on Saturday, Rathore had a heated altercation with police officials in Rajgarh when the opposition was demanding action against people responsible for Bishnoi’s death.

Poonia denied the allegations and demanded an investigation.

“All the allegations levelled by the opposition against me are false and I deny them. As for the letter, whoever is requesting their transfer, the allegations being levelled against me of pressurising them, it should be investigated if I pressurised them, how did I do it? Did I call them or put pressure on them in person or came to the police station? I am asking for a probe in this. The opposition is trying to play politics over the issue to get political mileage. .. The leaders who are politicising the issue, one should see their history, how they got political mileage by doing caste politics and one should also see my history, what I have done for the country,” Poonia told The Indian Express.

Poonia is a former Olympian and Commonwealth gold medalist in discus throw.