The District Agriculture Officer(DAO) of Araria, who had forced a home guard jawan do squats for flagging down his car during lockdown recently, was on Tuesday suspended by the Bihar government.The suspension has been ordered on the basis of an inquiry report, state Agriculture minister Prem Kumar said in a statement.The minister had ordered an inquiry into the incident.The department had issued show cause notice to the officer Manoj Kumar in connection with the matter.The sordid episode had taken place near Surajpur pul (bridge) on Araria-Jokihat road under Jokihat police station area, when chowkidar Ganesh Lal Tatma flagged down the DAOs vehicle and sought valid pass from him for moving during coronavirus-triggered lockdown.This had angered the DAO, who took it as his insult and asked the jawan to do 50 squats as punishment.He did not stop by only doing so but also threatened to send the jawan to jail for his act.A police officer, who was heard in the video posing himself as incharge, had also scolded the jawan for letting him down in front of senior officers.The said policeman,an Additional Sub Inspector of Police, has already been placed under suspension.State police chief Gupteshar Pandey had himself talked to the chowkidar and apologised to him on behalf of the erring police official.The agriculture minister said, it is our duty and moral responsibility to give respect and honour to all of those- be it a lower or high ranking official- who have been unselfishly working far from their families in this hour of crisis of Coronavirus.
