Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das' cell network down, two BSNL staff held

DUMKA: Police picked up two senior Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officials from their homes in Dumka shortly before midnight on Monday after Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das complained that he was not receiving mobile network at Raj Bhavan in the state sub-capital. Das was staying at the Raj Bhavan here to hold a 'Jan Choupal' to hear grievances of residents.

The two BSNL officers - Dumka telecom district manager PK Singh and assistant junior telecom officer Sanjeev Kumar - were detained at the town police station for three hours as 'punishment' for the network failure on Raj Bhavan campus.

Town police station officer in-charge Devbrat Poddar said, "We brought the two telecom officials to the police station from their homes for non-availability of BSNL's mobile network at Raj Bhavan, where the CM was staying." The two were allowed to go home around 3am, three hours after they reached the police station, Poddar added.


While the CMO did not respond to TOI's repeated calls, Opposition leaders said the detention exposed the cheif minister's 'fascist approach'. The incident has also irked BSNL employees in the state.