Bettiah (West Champaran): Serious allegations are being leveled against Gaunaha police station, located on the Nepal border in Bihar, a highly sensitive area. RTI activist Acharya Nitin Kumar Ravi has accused the station of protecting Mujammil Sheikh and his associates in a case involving land grabbing and crop looting, with police collusion. The station is alleged to have become a hub of corruption during the tenure of former station in-charge Rajiv Nandan Sinha, who was recently suspended on corruption charges while serving as Raxaul station in-charge. Demands are now rising for re-investigation of old cases handled during Sinha’s time, as the station’s report has allegedly misled the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Caption: Mujammil Shekh
Caption: Rajeev Nandan
Suspension of Former Station In-Charge Rajiv Nandan Sinha: Exposure of Corruption
In May 2025, Champaran Range DIG Harikishore Rai suspended Raxaul station in-charge Inspector Rajiv Nandan Sinha. The allegations were that Sinha took goods worth lakhs from local businessman Tunna Prasad on credit but did not pay. When the businessman demanded payment, Sinha implicated him in a false kidnapping case. Following the businessman’s complaint, the DIG personally investigated, found the charges true, and immediately suspended Sinha, initiating departmental proceedings.
This suspension raises questions about Sinha’s tenure as Gaunaha station in-charge. Nitin Kumar Ravi claims that under Sinha, the station was completely a center of corruption. Multiple complaints were filed in Gaunaha, but no action was taken. Now that Sinha’s corrupt character has been exposed, re-investigation of old cases during his tenure—especially the land dispute involving Mujammil Sheikh—is essential.
The Land Grabbing Case: Dispute Began During COVID Period
The root of the dispute lies in April 2021, when Nitin Kumar Ravi’s entire family was infected with COVID-19, and their house was declared a micro-containment zone and sealed. During this time, Mujammil Sheikh (father: Salim Sheikh, village: Gamhariya, Gaunaha), along with Saddam Sheikh, Sajjad Sheikh, his uncle, cousin, and other anti-social elements, attacked the caretakers of the land—Ramsharan Mahto and Anil Kaji—forcing them to leave through assault and threats.
The family immediately informed then-DM Kundan Kumar via WhatsApp. After COVID was controlled, a board was installed on the land stating: “This land is not for sale; ownership rights belong to Bamdev Jha.” Prabhat Kumar Jha applied to the Gaunaha circle officer for land measurement, mentioning Plot No. 02, Khesra 389, Thana No. 28, area three bighas. The land is jointly registered in the names of Pandit Umakant Jha and Bamdev Jha. Lagaan receipts, pattas, and documents were attached. Applications were also submitted to SP Bettiah, DSP Narkatiaganj, Circle Officer, and SDM Narkatiaganj.
On June 30, 2021, Prashant Jha filed a complaint at Gaunaha police station regarding forcible occupation and threats, but the station did not provide a receiving acknowledgment. As per Nitin, the station has no practice of giving receipts for applications.
Police Negligence: From Crop Looting to Hiding CCTV Footage
In September 2021, Circle Officer Amit Kumar called for original documents in a public hearing (janata darbar). On September 4, 18 documents were submitted, including a copy of a 1978 complaint. Still, no action was taken.
On October 15, 2021, Mujammil’s men looted the crop. A complaint with video evidence was submitted, but then-station in-charge Rajiv Nandan Sinha dismissed it as a janata darbar matter. On October 16, Mujammil came to the station in-charge’s chamber during janata darbar and, during an argument, confessed to attempting to create a fake patta. The entire incident was captured on CCTV (from 11 am to 3 pm), where Mujammil admitted to returning the crop and apologizing. Footage was requested via RTI but not provided.
Later, a minor theft FIR was registered, but names were changed—Nitin Kumar Ravi to Nishchit Kumar Singh, and father Jaishankar Jha to Jaishankar Singh. This was confirmed when documents were obtained from court. RTI responses were not given.
Contradictory Reports: Allegations of Misleading the PMO
The janata darbar ran from 2021 to 2024. Mujammil could not produce any proof of being a sharecropper (bataidar). In one letter, Suryakant Jha was called the owner; in another, merely a claimant. Circle Officer Amit Kumar issued a 2022 letter stating Mujammil was given the land on sharecropping, but RTI revealed no name was mentioned in the investigation.
The station prepared a report in Mujammil’s favor without investigation and sent it to the PMO. Nitin alleges the station is issuing different letters to correct previous mistakes in the accused’s favor. Trees were cut, crops looted repeatedly, but no FIR was registered. Despite fees paid for measurement, no date was fixed.
Nitin wrote to Bihar DGP demanding FIR against Mujammil, Salim, Saddam, and Sajjad. Former SI Vivek Kumar Balendu (now station in-charge) told media he had no knowledge of the case, despite having written reports earlier.
Mujammil’s Influence: Connections and Threats
Mujammil is a petty contractor with Narayani Construction Private Limited. He uses the company owner’s IAS son-in-law’s name to pressure the station and circle office. Allegations include brokerage using local leaders’ names and land grabbing with anti-social elements. Threats were issued that if the family comes to harvest, women will be used to harvest and false cases filed to send them to jail.
Call for Justice in a Sensitive Area
Gaunaha is a tribal-dominated, sensitive block bordering Nepal. Corrupt officers here are a cancer for the poor seeking justice. Nitin said the pain from the station and circle office exceeds that from COVID. Hundreds of applications/RTIs filed, but no justice. Demand for re-investigation by new station in-charge and circle officer.
This case is not just a land dispute but a question of police administration’s credibility. If even the PMO is being misled, the concern is grave. High-level departmental investigation is needed so truth emerges and the guilty are punished.