Bihar : Back to 1990s

The towering number of crime says that Bihar is again on the path of Jungle Raj, which once used to be in 1990s. Still the State government claims that Bihar is better than other states

Nishant Kr Azad
“There will be absolutely no compromise with the rule of law in the State. This has been our guiding principle from the very start. We will work on the basis of the same in the future”, was the statement of  Chief Minister Nitish kumar after forming government in Bihar but now it seems that he has failed to fulfill his promise to maintain law and order in the State.

The rowdy attitude of ruling alliance leaders (RJD, JD (U) and Congress) is at its peak in Bihar. They have no respect for the law and order. An MLA is accused of misbehaving a girl in a moving train, some are accused of kidnapping girls, while some are wanted in rape cases. The extortion industry is again flourishing, while the genuine industries are being shut down. Even then Bihar Chief Minister boasts of saying that law and order situation in the state is better than that of other states.
The situation in Bihar started getting worse just few days after Nitish Kumar came to power. It was predicted that jungle raj will soon return to Bihar because Nitish came to power with joining hands with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav who is very famous for his Gunda Raj.
Just few weeks after the murder of a teenager Aditya Sachdeva in Gaya by the son of a JD (U) MLC Manorama Devi over a petty issue, a senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan of a  national Hindi daily was brazenly gunned down by unidentified assailants on May 13.
While the real motive behind the murder is not yet ascertained, it is said that Rajdeo Ranjan was killed because he had something against Shahabuddin   the jailed former RJD MP from Siwan, and he is the man behind his murder.
According to the media reports, two years back, the intelligence had gathered information that  Shahabuddin had preapared a hit list of 23 persons to be eliminated. This piece of news was published by Rajdeo ranjan in Hindustan daily and what is very noteworthy is that, the journalist himself was on No 7 on that list.
The recent incident of killing a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan proves that not only the common man but even security forces are also not safe in Bihar. RPF jawan was killed and another was injured by unidentified men in Buxar. Their INSAS rifles were also looted.

Because of the growing number of killings, rapes and kidnappings, people are living in fear. “Bihar is again turning back to 1990s decade, when hundreds of businessmen not only from Gaya but also from other parts of the state had migrated. The criminals ruled the root under the patronage of political leaders. Many leaders of the ruling party have criminal background. This is the prime reason of growing crime in the state,” says a businessman of Gaya Anil Shroff (name changed).
Before moving further let us have a look at the murder of Aditya Sachdeva in Gaya on May 8. Aditya was killed only because he took a while to give side to the vehicle following him. The accused of the murder Rakesh Ranjan alias Rocky is in judicial custody now. Rocky’s father Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav alias Bindi Yadav is also in jail in the same case. And his mother is in 14-days judicial custody. Rocky travelling by Land Rover car tried to overtake Aditya. When Aditya took some time to offer the side, Rocky shot him dead. The questions raised by senior BJP leader Sushil Modi over the    security given to such dreaded criminals are genuine. “Nitish Kumar is talking about Sharab bandi everyday, but when will he talk about Apradhbandi,’’ asks Modi.
During the last six months, over a dozen MLAs, MPs and other leaders have taken the law in their hands putting a serious question mark over the CM’s claim of good governance. Sometime back, RJD MLA Rajballabh Yadav was accused of raping a minor girl. The police could not arrest him for three months, while a woman accused in the same case was arrested the same day. He was arrested only recently.
MLA Sarfaraz Alam who is accused of molesting a woman in a moving train is still moving at large. Congress MLA Vinay Verma ran away from Shikarpur police station after issuing controversial statement about prohibition. There are so many such examples.
People say if the leaders belonging to ruling party challenge the law and order machinery how can rule of law  be established in the State? It will only encourage the criminals. Every peace loving citizen of Bihar is disturbed today. But there is none to listen to them woes.   
(With inputs Sanjeev Kumar from Patna)