Days after Khemka murder, Gandhi Maidan SHO suspended

Patna: Days after the high-profile murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Gandhi Maidan area of Patna, the local station house officer (SHO), Rajesh Kumar, was suspended on Wednesday for negligence in duties. The suspension was recommended by Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kartikeya K Sharma and approved by central range inspector general (IG) Jitendra Rana after Rajesh was found negligent in handling his responsibilities, particularly in the Gopal Khemka murder case."Rajesh was found guilty of not adhering to the duty with responsibility. He was also found careless in the investigation of several cases. So he has been suspended with immediate effect," Sharma said.The family of Khemka had alleged that on the day of the murder, police arrived at the scene two hours after the incident. Sharma conducted a review and found serious lapses in the working style of Rajesh, who had become the Gandhi Maidan police station SHO just four months ago in March.Khemka was shot dead just a few steps away from the police station on the night of July 4. After the murder, the family had accused the police of negligence, stating that they did not arrive at the scene on time, even as the Patna SSP had repeatedly said the cops reached the spot immediately after receiving the information.Some other negligence on the part of Rajesh was also reported during his tenure. On April 15, more than 20 rounds of gunfire were exchanged between two groups in broad daylight in his jurisdiction. In this case, VIP member Madhukar Anand and his supporters were made accused, but the police were unable to apprehend him. Some suspects were arrested in the case, and the investigation was formally concluded.In another incident on June 29, a young man attacked the Dial-112 team on Exhibition Road, injuring an on-duty police officer, Sanjay Kumar.