ALAPPUZHA: Shibin Thomas, a constable with 28 Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) from Alappuzha, who was in custody for the last two weeks at Raiganj in West Bengal, was dismissed from service on Friday. Talking to this newspaper from Raiganj over phone, Shibin said he had been served dismissal order in the morning and released from captivity. He had left the place for home on Friday. The move comes in the wake of state police chief Loknath Behra speaking to BSF officials on Monday about his detention and the incident coming out in public domain.
The 34-year-old constable is expected to reach home on Monday. He was serving the BSF for 13 years. Thomas John, father of the constable, said that the family was relieved on hearing that he was freed. "He called us in the morning and told us about the dismissal. We told him to return home as early as possible. We don't know what he is guilty of. We will register a case in High Court challenging his dismissal so that we can get pension benefits since he has put in 14 years of service," he said. The BSF career of Shibin was in dicey for the last one year after he filed a RTI with Ministry of Home Affairs on September 24, 2015
This newspaper had reported the plight of the constable on January 11. Earlier, in December 2015, Shibin was dismissed from service without pension benefits. He was reinstated in December after his parents sent a petition to the PMO describing the plight of their son. Shibin was taken back pending inquiry. He was framed under charge of alleged misbehaviour with a Dr Rohan Kumar, General Duty Medical Officer. However, Shibin was unrelenting and sought a probe led by an IPS officer. It wasn't accepted by the probe team which had finished inquiry last week and sent a report to higher authorities. He alleged he was being framed by senior officials in revenge for filing an RTI to expose corrupt practices in the 41 battalion, his previous stint.
