Representational image for suspension.
Credit: iStock Photo
Barabanki, UP: Four police personnel, including a station house officer, were transferred to police lines and an FIR was lodged against them for allegedly bulldozing a shop here in the absence of the revenue department, officials said on Saturday.
This suspension comes after a high court order declared the demolition 'illegal' and asked Barabanki Superintendent of Police (SP) to act on the matter.
One Jalil Ahmed who ran a cloth shop in the Imambara market here had pleaded in the high court that his shop was wrongfully bulldozed by the Jaidpur police on October 14, police said.
Ahmed, who had a dispute with the landlord of his shop, told PTI on Saturday that police took the measure in connivance with the landlords who wanted him to vacate the shop.
"My shop was wrongfully marked as dilapidated and bulldozed by the police. I was given no time to remove the goods from inside the shop before it was taken down," added Ahmed.
While hearing the matter earlier this week, the High Court termed the demolition carried out in the absence of revenue department officials as 'illegal' and directed Barabanki SP Dinesh Kumar Singh to take action regarding the issue, the officials said.
In compliance with the court's order, the SP on Friday sent SHO of Jaidpur police station Anil Pandey, in-charge of police outpost Satish Kumar and constables Jitendra Kumar Rai and Pramod Kumar Gupta to police lines, they added.
The accused were booked under Section 120 (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. The two landlords of the shop Atiqurrehaman and Hafizurrehman have also been named in the FIR, the police said.
"The four policemen were suspended for their involvement in a demolition done in the absence of revenue officials. The matter is being investigated by the circle officer of the area. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation," said Additional SP Akhilesh Narayan.