Friday 15 / November / 2024
Patna: Brushing aside Opposition barb of "return of jungle raj" in the wake of murder of a youth in Gaya allegedly at the hands a Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLC's son, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted "rule of law prevails" in east Indian state of Bihar and culprit cannot escape the "long arms of law".
"...(the jungle raj barb) is a subjective approach of the BJP. For them the person committing a crime is more important. But for me the incident is more significant irrespective of the person or his family's standing," Kumar told reporters after the 'Janata ke Darbar me Mukhya Mantri' programme here.
Twenty-year-old Aditya Sachdeva was shot dead allegedly by Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Kumar Yadav, son of JD (U) MLC Manorama Devi, when the former overtook over the latter's SUV.
Giving details of the police action into the incident, Kumar said the accused's father Bindi Yadav and Manorama Devi's bodyguard were arrested soon after the incident.
The bodyguard, a policeman, has been suspended.
"An SIT has been constituted and the police is on hot pursuit of the fugitive offender....the police is working independently without any influence from any quarter," he said.
Kumar was reacting to a question on BJP observing a bandh in Gaya on Monday to protest against "return of jungle raj".
Seeking to turn the tables on BJP, he said, "What is happening in Delhi where police are under direct control of the Central government? Go through the latest data of National Crime Record Bureau to find out where Bihar stands in term of crime rate," he said.
Asked if action would be initiated also against JD(U) MLC Manorama Devi, the chief minister did not give a categorical answer but said "a thorough probe is on in the incident and nobody would be spared."
"How long can one run away from law whose arms are very long?" the chief minister said.
Kumar said for him the meaning of "rule of law" is not about who is committing a crime but what action is taken immediately in the case of any such event.
Expressing pain over the incident, the CM said, "Can anybody claim that there will be no single incident of crime. Criminal acts take place due to many reasons like mindset of the offenders or situation prevailing at the time of the act."
Taking on opposition BJP which has gone hammer and tongs against him in the wake of the incident, the CM said, "What did they do all those seven-and-a-half year of being with me except 'chadar taan ke sona' (sleeping peacefully)?"
Meanwhile, efforts were on to trace Rakesh Ranjan Yadav, the absconding son of a Janata Dal-United(JD-U) MLC in Bihar, in connection with murder case even as a bandh was being observed in Gaya town on Monday in protest against the incident.
Raids are being conducted at several places for tracing Rocky who has been absconding since the incident, Magadh Zone DIG Saurabh Kumar said.
Shops and business establishments in Gaya remained shut in view of the bandh called by the BJP and other socio-political outfits to protest against the incident.
Protesters, led by the Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar, took out a procession near Kotwali police station raising slogans against the state government and demanding arrest of the culprits. They were later detained by the police.
