Kishanganj district of Bihar is very far away from the capital Patna. While the district might not be as fast paced as others, residents’ dreams are big. A girl who had just passed her 12th standard hoping to be a doctor. A man misused her innocence promising admission in a medical college. She trusted him and the money asked was transferred. But promise never materialised.
She foresaw just a dark future for herself. She lost all her money and couldn’t realise her dream. She went to the police station where the SP Dr. Inam Ul Haq extended the support. Before arresting the fraudster, he first recovered the money and transferred it back to the girl’s family. The due legal action was also taken later.
“Such cases are very rampant here. The district lacks in job opportunities. Miscreants misuse this situation. We have handled several cases where people have been tricked in giving money for false job promises.” Said Dr. Haq while speaking to Indian Masterminds.
He and his team has made it a point to recover the money first before taking the legal action. The officer believes that punishment is important but that is of no use to the victim unless he gets his money back. During 2022-2023, the Kishanganj police has recovered more than Rs 6-7 crores in such cases. Fake land registration is also a big challenge here. “We have special team to deal with the such economic offences. The SOP is designed to handle such cases and we have recovered more than the expectation. The cyber police station is also fully functional now”, adds Dr. Haq.
DEALING WITH SOCIAL EVILS
Kishanganj police also has faces crimes related to social evils like dowry, domestic violence or child marriage. Unlike cities, here the major cause of domestic violence is poor finances. “The family is big and the husband doesn’t earn enough to fulfil basic needs of the family leading to violence. Unless, the husband is repeat offender, we don’t press criminal charges against him. We focus on social policing in such cases. The couple is counselled and the females are provided job opportunities to stable their life” adds the SP.
He believes that making arrest doesn’t solve the problems of the wife. She wants a good life and future for her kids. The team tries to do that. Till now, more than 50 woman have been roped in various schemes of Jeevika. Dr. Haq also said that in recent times many such women have joined the police in Kishanganj. The enhanced women cops also help in dealing with such cases. The female police personnel plays a key role in providing counselling and better job opportunities for the women.
The police in co-ordination with Women & Child Development Department (WCD) is trying to increase awareness and take preventive measures on issues like dowry and child marriage. The officer shares, “Role of the Police is not to make arrest and investigate only. Our role include providing immediate succour to public. I firmly believe that one can rarely benefit with arrest or litigation. It only increases our work load. Jail should only be an exception while dealing with social evils.”
FROM KASHMIR TO BIHAR
Born and brought in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Haq completed his medical education from Government Medical College, Srinagar. He came to Delhi for the preparation for Masters but then he learnt about UPSC CSE. His journey took a turn and he simultaneously prepared for his PG, CAT and UPSC CSE. He got in all three but chose to join IPS. He was originally allotted Assam-Meghalaya cadre and then came to Bihar. Before Kishanganj, he served in Jamui and then Bihar Police Academy (BPA).
