Senior IAS officer sends legal notice to former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi

PATNA: Senior IAS officer Chanchal Kumar has sent a legal notice to former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, asking him to publicly declare evidence for a defaming statement given in media against him (the officer) in connection with the recent arrest of BSSC chairman Sudhir Kumar or apologise within 15 days, otherwise he would be compelled to take appropriate legal recourses under the law.
Chanchal (a 1992-batch IAS officer), who is currently posted as principal secretary to CM Nitish Kumar, has sent the notice through his lawyer Vinay Shankar Dubey.
In the legal notice, Chanchal Kumar has raised serious objection over Manjhi’s statement in the media in which the former CM had alleged that Chanchal played a role in the arrest of Sudhir Kumar.
As per the notice, Manjhi had reportedly told before media, “Ek Padhadhikari hai Chanchal Kumar Jee, unke father-in-law ko aaj se 15-20 baras pehle unki baat na maan karke oo culprit the. Unko jail bheja gaya tha. Usi ka sara kuchakra chal raha hai jiske chalte inko arrest kiya gaya hai.”
“In connection with the arrest and custody of Sudhir Kumar, you have given your statement that he went to jail due to my client’s conspiracy and retaliatory strategy. ---As an ex-CM, you are expected to know the relevant procedures, law and rules regarding institution of a case and subsequent police investigation,” Chanchal’s lawyer has told Manjhi in the legal notice. TOI has a copy of the legal notice.
“By your statement you have tried to tarnish the reputation of Chanchal Kumar which he has earned by hard work and dedication to his service during the last 25 years. My client is an IAS officer with unblemished record and career,” the notice reads.
Manjhi on Tuesday admitted that he has received legal notice from Chanchal Kumar for making a statement against the officer. “I had made such statement before media persons on the basis of information provided to me by some people who had come to meet me,” Manjhi, who is president of Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), told reporters. The former CM said he would reply to the legal notice.
Reacting over legal notice to Manjhi, former deputy CM and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council, Sushil Kumar Modi decried the practise of bureaucrats serving notice to politicians. “Serving of legal notice by bureaucrats to politicians is not a good tradition,” Sushil Modi told reporters outside the legislative council. Earlier, another senior IAS officer K K Pathak had served a legal notice to Modi for his statement in media against Pathak.
Pathak, in a legal notice served to Sushil Modi in May 2016, had said that Modi allegedly used words like 'nirankus' (autocrat) and 'sanki' (eccentric) against him.