Bihar : Crime Blossoms in Bihar!

All their fears expressed before the elections are proving true now. The morale of the criminals in Bihar has increased manyfold with the return of Lalu-Nitish combine. Every corner of the state is abuzz with news of crime—be it murder for ransom, loot, rape, and so on. People in the state are living in a state of fear for life. Especially after the four cold-blooded chilling murder of engineers the entire state is in a shock. These incidents have put a very big question mark on the law and order situation of the state.

Just after the murder of two engineers in Darbhanga over ransom, another engineer Ankit Jha, working with Reliance, was silenced in Vidupur PS area in the Raghopur constituency of Lalu’s son and Deputy CM of the state. During the same time the criminals killed Naresh Kushwaha, a supervisor of a company in Bhagalpur. Muzaffarpur businessman Santosh Kumar Chaudhary was shot dead by the criminals.  Two businessmen were robbed off Rs 11 lakh; in Sitamarhi, the criminals fired at Surgeon P P Lohani’s house demanding ransom, and similar news are pouring in from various parts of the state. This is just a trailor of the events to come in future. Crime rate has shot up in entire state with great speed.
Two engineers—Brajesh Kumar and Mukesh Kumar-working with private road construction company BSC & CNC Ltd. were brutally murdered in broad daylight by motorcycle borne criminals near Shivram Square in Baheri PS area in Darbhanga district on December 26. The criminals were laced with AK-47. On December 28, 30-year—old Kamar Alam was stonned to death in Patna city and on the same day Mundan Kumar of Ekdanga village in the district was shot dead by the miscreants. Same day some miscreants misbehaved and injured a driver of a news channel vehicle under Patna Kotwali PS. But the most heinous crime occurred in Dy CM Tejswi Yadav’s constituency on December 28 when Ankit Kumar, an engineer with Reliance Company was stabbed to death by the criminals. His body was found near a garden in Kashipur village. Ankit was an engineer with Corporate IT sector. Another trader Santosh Kumar Chaudhary was shot at on the same night. Santosh, a resident of Sitamarhi had been doing business here since last decade. Four criminals thereatened him and shot from their guns.
In Katihar the miscreants looted Rs 18 lakh. The bike-borne criminals looted Rs 8.70 lakh from a mobile shop owner Preetesh Kumar Keshri and Rs 2 lakh from another cloth merchant Munshi Arvind Kumar Das of Mirchaibari. These two incidents took place within just one and half hour. Earlier, on December 26 in Katihar the miscreants looted Rs 6.50 lakh from gas godown employees. On the next day the criminals attacked Maa Shakti Auto Service in Tengraha village in Samastipur and looted Rs 7.75 lakh. They tied the owner and injured him with the butt of the gun. In Betiya on December 28 the criminals snatched Rs 5 lakh at gun point from the employees of Hariom Hardware near Chamainia Nahar. No one has been arrested in these incidents so far.
Patrna-based journalist Prashant Ranjan sees these incidents as political rehabilitation of criminal elements in Bihar. After the return of Lalu-Nitish combine in Bihar in the recently held elections, these elements have received a shot in their arms to relaunch their activities. Nitish Kumar, it seems has lost control over the administration and police inspite of being the Chief Minister. Crimes against women are rising in the state. Besides the increase in common criminal incidents, the theft of artifects and ancient monuments and idols have registered a striking rise. The theft of historically important idol of Lord Mahaveera from Khaira in Jamuri on December 27 is a case in point. Though the idol was later recovered not because of the efficienfcy of the cops, but because the miscreants could not carry it further and dropped it mid-way.
On December 10, the criminals attempted theft in Mahalakshmi temple of Brahmapura PS in Muzaffarpur where they laid their hands on ornaments worth lakhs of rupees. Similarly an ancient idol from Kahalgaon temple in Bhagalpur was stolen and there has been no progress in these two cases. During the last five years the criminals have stolen over 200 idols from various temples in the state, the highest being in Nalanda district followed by Navada and Gaya and other districts. In 2011, 30 idols were stolen, 62 in 2012, 65 in 2013, 28 in 2014, and 15 idols were stolen in 2015.
The morale of the criminals has increased after the victory of Lalu-Nitish combine in Bihar. Within 72-hours of the election results, a minor girl was subjected to gangrape in the Patna Collectorate premises. Similarly, near the CM’s residence, some miscreants looted a Scorpio vehicle at gunpoint. In Patna city these elements injured a lady police officer, damged an idol of Goddess Lakshmi in Fulwari Sharif and beat people in a Dalit basti. On the other hand the miscreants looted Rs 31 lakh within 72 hours of swearing in ceremony of the new government in four major incidents. A new MLA threatened a Police Officer and passed lewd comments on lady BDO. While the criminals have let lose reign of terror, the new MLAs are busy in getting new spacious bungalows for themselves.
Soon after the election results, news relating to crimes started doing rounds in the state. The results were declared on November 8. On the next day a 12-year-old Dalit girl was subjected to gang rape. The culprit Sonu was arrested after 11 days but other accused are still at large. The unfortunate father is getting threats from them. On December 16, a standard VIII girl in Rohtas faced the similar incident. The criminals, who used to target this girl of Sanjhouli village, finally committed the heinous crime. Similarly on December 12, in Fulwari a 28-year –old lady was raped in a car. On December 4 the criminals murdered a man and his son for opposing their intention of rape and threw their bodies in a well.
The incidents of loot are also increasing. On November 10, criminals looted a Scorpio vehicle at gunpoint at place just 3 km from away CM’s residence. They kidnapped the driver also. Police is still at loss to locate the
vehicle.
Leave aside the common people, even the police are not safe in the new raj. On November 18, the Police Officer of Belsar outpost in Lalganj Thana in Vaishali was done to death by the angry mob. Police had to fire to bring the situation under control. In firing one young boy was killed. The mob was angry at an accident in which a six year old girl was killed under the speeding truck. The angry mob reached the police outpost and attacked the officer. He died on way to PCMH. Similar incidents were reported from Begusari and Darbhanga districts also where angry mob injured the police officers on duty.
Nitish Kumar’s Government took oath of office and secrecy at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Nov 20. The people felt that administration would be strict thereafter. But there was no let up in criminal incidents. On November 23, the criminals looted the petrol pump owned by a former MP in Sitamarhi district. The bike-borne criminals looted Rs 12.30 lakh and injured an employee there. Police got hold of the bike but criminals are still away from their grip. On the same day a Scorpio of BDO Sanjeev Kumar was looted by the miscreants while in Chhapra they looted Rs 1.80 lakh from a petrol pump.
The people of Bihar fail to understand the logic behind these increasing incidents of crime, loot and rape in the state immediately after the Nitish-Lalu Government came to power. How can they expect justice when the MLAs are threatening the police officers and influencing the process of justice? Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had directed the police administration in the state to control the miscreants and criminals. He even asked some of them to withdraw and look after their original work if they could not control the law and order situation. RJD Supremo Lalu Yadav said that he would declare a Base Number on which anyone could give information related to law and order situation. But people are not taking his statement seriously anymore for obvious reasons. Meanwhile, the businessmen and traders are seriously considering the option of moving out of the state in view of the growing incidents of jungle raj in the state.                         –Sanjeev Kumar from Patna