Though the young entrepreneur, who shot into fame for his unique design of rickshaw, was charged with abducting, wrongfully confining and assaulting an engineer, yet he and his three associates––Govind Jha, Yuvraj and Rohit alias Raj Kumar––were released on Saturday from police station.

What came as a big shock is that Irfan, and three of his associates had to spend night in lock up on the charge of kidnapping when the truth is that the engineer, who alleged that he was assaulted, was recovered from the very office of the Samman Foundation.

According to Police Irfan, with his three associates were arrested from the State Bank Colony under Shastrinagar police station on Friday evening for assaulting and confining the engineer, Navendra alias Navendu, at the office of Samman Foundation.

It was none else but Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Kumar who late on Friday evening told media that a police team rescued Navendu after his father complained of kidnapping of his son allegedly by Irfan and his associates. Prime facie dispute over payment appeared to be the reason behind the incident, the SSP added.

But after his release on Saturday Irfan told BiharTimes that he gave Navendu advance money for making website more than a year back. He did not fulfill the promise. Upon this he was invited to the office where he was asked to payback the amount. He started arguing with Irfan and his friends and with the help of his mobile phone informed his father that he had been kidnapped by Irfan and his associates.

But the Police had a totally different version. It said that Irfan misbehaved with an assistant superintendent of police when the latter reached his office to enquire about the whereabouts of Navendu.

According to earlier media reports Navendu’s father told the police that he suspected foul play when his son did not return home till 4:30 PM. While leaving home around 1:30 PM, Navendu had told his family members that he was going to Irfan’s office.

Navendu on his part told the police that the motive of the abductors was to eliminate him.

As the truth can be known only after a proper inquiry the big question remains unanswered: If Irfan and his men were really accused of kidnapping, assault, illegal confinement, snatching of laptop and mobile than why were they released the following morning and not sent to jail straightaway?

And if Irfan and his associates really wanted to kidnap and eliminate Navendu than why was he invited to the office itself? The third question is how come his father knew within three hours that Navendu had been kidnapped if the phone had been snatched by Irfan? His father approached the police at 4:30 PM, when his son Navendu left the house at 1:30 PM.

If Irfan’s version is to be believed he was even beaten up in the lock up. This is not the first time that the Bihar Police have exceeded their limits. Only a couple of years back the then ASP (Probationer) of Jehanabad, Vivek Kumar, badly thrashed an NRI from Russia when his vehicle overtook that of the young police officer. The NRI, who came to Bihar for making investment in hotel industry was chased by the ASP’s vehicle, caught and brutally thrashed.

Incidentally, the ASP went unpunished. Sometimes later he was promoted to the post of Superintendent of Police.

In Irfan’s case the matter could have been sorted out by arbitration, but the police chose to become a party.

Irfan, it must be recalled, was among 250 entrepreneurs from 60 countries, who were invited and felicitated by President Obama last year April. There were in all six such entrepreneurs from India.
Cops are in the habit of mistreating rickshaw-pullers. They perhaps mistook Irfan as one of them.

Comment

comments...

Very saddening to hear the news. Not right for me to comment unless the truth comes out white and black. The case should be treated with utmost care and precision.
Brand building takes years, destroying takes not even a day.

Anand Suman.
IIMA Alumnus

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Shocked to reading this news. I am in Hyderabad meeting investors and entrepreneurs , motivating them to come and invest in Bihar. Speaking to them on Bihar’s 360 degree improvement in law & order, new investment policy and incentives to invest in agribusiness in Bihar. After reading this News, which was widely published by our journalists without much investigation, one of Hyderabadi asked me that how can Police arrest somebody without doing a prime-facie investigation and applying their rationales & logic. If they can do this to their own citizen then they can do to any outsider. He finally concluded that the place is still terrible and frightful for outsiders.
I could not understand if one wished to abduct & eliminate somebody then could not he choose different place/location rather than choosing his office. Even a most naïve person would not call somebody his home when he wishes to eliminate somebody. Alas!!! Had our dear policemen understood this logic before acting in haste, Bihar would not have considered as a terrible place. Police could not have chosen some better day for doing their job, our Honorable CM was announcing New Industrial Incentive (Promotion) Policy to attract entrepreneurs and our policemen was putting an internationally acclaimed entrepreneurs behind the bar in haste.
My sincere appeal to Govt. of Bihar is that to constitute a body or office or helpline where any entrepreneurs can call or sought help if harassed by anybody ( be it be police or govt. offices or any organisation).

Kaushlendra
Ashoka Fellow

--------------------------------------------------------------

Irfan shouldn't have used the same means of recovering the money what other criminals use. He should have filed a case against this guy and would have co-operated with law rather keeping that guy in ilegal confinement and his associates using some other means. We all are looking at these new enterprenuers of Bihar as a role model. Whomever invited him or whatever big he is if he has done wrong then he should be punished. Somewhere I read that the guy was beaten badly by his associates.

Sarvesh