Bihar SP Bhanu Pratap Singh Faces Public Dispute After Wife Alleges Separation

Khagaria Superintendent of Police Bhanu Pratap Singh, a 2021-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Bihar cadre, has become the subject of a public domestic dispute after his wife, Pooja, lodged a police complaint against him and his family in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Video footage and recorded statements circulating widely across social media platforms showed Pooja waiting outside her in-laws' residence before proceeding to the Mathura Gate police station to allege that she was denied access to their six-year-old daughter and that her husband sought a divorce following his entry into the civil services.

The personal controversy gained public attention when Pooja travelled from Bihar to Bharatpur to confront her in-laws. According to her statements to local authorities and media reports, their marital relationship deteriorated significantly after Singh secured his IPS posting, culminating in claims of mental harassment and restricted parental contact.

Bhanu Pratap Singh is originally from the Fatehpur Sikri area of Uttar Pradesh and holds a postgraduate degree in Hindi literature. Before taking charge as Superintendent of Police in Khagaria, he served as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Muzaffarpur and Danapur following his formal induction into the service on December 5, 2021.

In previous public accounts shared during a Josh Talks interview, Singh outlined his career trajectory, noting that his father served in the Indian Army, which inspired him to pursue a career in uniform. After facing setbacks in his initial two attempts at the UPSC Civil Services Examination, he cleared the test in subsequent tries. During that period, he secured selections for the Indian Railway Personnel Service and the Indian Audit and Accounts Service before achieving an All India Rank of 372 in the 2020 examination to enter the Indian Police Service.

According to Pooja's account, the couple first met in Kolkata during a 2015 family function, and their relationship developed despite opposition from both families. Pooja stated that she left her home in Kolkata to travel to Bharatpur, where they married on January 16, 2016. Coming from a Brahmin family in Kolkata while Singh belongs to a Jat family from Uttar Pradesh, Pooja worked for approximately five years as a private school teacher in Bharatpur to support her husband financially during his preparation for the civil services examinations.

The couple had a daughter in 2020. However, Pooja alleged that the dynamic of their household shifted drastically after Singh attained his IPS posting. In video clips recorded outside the family home, she stated regarding the marital strain, "IPS banne ke baad ye talaq lena chahte hain," indicating that her husband wants a dissolution of the marriage. She further stated, "Ek maa apne bachche ke liye nahi aa sakti hai," while appealing for public assistance to see her child.

The personal controversy escalated when Pooja arrived at the Bharatpur residence of her in-laws. Finding no response after waiting outside for approximately an hour, she visited her sister-in-law's home in Vijay Nagar before heading to the Mathura Gate police station to submit a formal complaint against her husband and his family members.

Upon receiving the complaint, local law enforcement contacted Singh by phone. Because the matter was classified as a domestic dispute, officers did not initiate immediate coercive legal action. Pooja remained at the police station late into the night, maintaining that her primary objective was to exercise her marital rights and secure regular contact with her daughter, adding that she did not wish for her husband to face professional consequences. Singh has not publicly responded to the allegations.

All-India Service officers are governed by the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, which mandate that every member of the service must maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty and refrain from conduct unbecoming of a member of the service. Amendments specify the need to uphold high ethical standards and decency, while state administration rules allow authorities to review conduct in matters involving domestic disputes.