Days after a man died during an airdrop of flood relief material from a helicopter in Saran, another video from the district shows the station house officer (SHO) of Maker allegedly displaying his service pistol during the distribution of relief material. The officer, Sangram Kumar Singh, has been suspended with immediate effect, with the police ordering an inquiry into the purported circumstances captured in the video.

The video circulating on social media shows Singh standing on top of one of two pickup vehicles as people appear to queue up in front of the vehicle. At one point, when a person appears to try to pull a bag out of the pickup, the SHO is seen jumping onto the vehicle, warning people to stay back, then briefly pulling out his pistol and pointing it at the group.

In an order issued on October 4, the Saran Senior Superintendent of Police cited the video and said it prima facie reflected “gross negligence, indiscipline and arbitrariness” in the discharge of his duties, suspending Singh with immediate effect. He will be attached to the Saran Police Centre during suspension, the order said.


A separate statement from the SSP’s office said it had found “prima facie negligence and indiscipline” and that it was investigating the alleged incident.

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The incident comes amid intensified relief operations in flood-hit Saran. The ration packets are currently being air-dropped. According to sources, the helicopter was arranged from Gorakhpur because flooding and waterlogging had made road access to some areas difficult.

On October 2, Anil Kumar Singh, also known as Appu Singh, died in Parshurampur during the air-drop operation, while another person was injured. Police had said the cause of death would be established through a post-mortem examination, claiming there were no external injury marks on the body and that residents’ accounts of how he died differed.

Flooding has affected large parts of Saran, with relief and rescue operations underway across the district. The administration had reported 170 affected villages in 33 panchayats across seven blocks, with over 3 lakh people affected. By October 3, Indian Air Force helicopters had made 15 sorties, dropping more than 5,600 dry-ration packets containing over 28 tonnes of food material, officials claimed.