Went Delhi To Buy Underwear: CM Soren’s Brother

Basant Soren, the brother of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has given an awkward statement over his absence from the state during the recent political crisis.

On being asked about his visit to Delhi at a time of political crisis in Jharkhand, the JMM MLA said, “I had run out of undergarments, so I went to Delhi to purchase them. I get them from there. The political crisis is a normal thing and it keeps happening.”

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and the MLA from Dumka also visited the families of the two victims from Dumka.

He also met the families of the two minor victims from Dumka. Firstly, he met the deceased’s family, who was set ablaze by an accused named Shahrukh after being poured petrol on her. Both Shahrukh and his accomplice have been arrested by the police.

Soren gave condolence to the family and assured the deceased’s sister of a job and asked for her resume.

He also met the family of the rape victim from Dumka, where a 14-year-old tribal girl was raped, killed and hanged from a tree. The accused named Arman Ansari has been arrested and the case has been registered against him under POCSO.

He gave a cheque of nine lakhs to the deceased’s family and also ensured the admission of the deceased’s sister.

He said that the government will soon hold a meeting on the rise of such incidents in the Dumka district.

“The government has taken note of such incidents in the district and will soon hold a meeting with Superintendent of Police (SP), District Collector (DC) and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG),”

He also attacked the BJP over the visit of BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and Manoj Tiwari along with Jharkhand leaders Babulal Marandi and Nishikant Dubey.

“They are extremely low-standard people and do dirty politics. BJP just searches for incidents, that it can politicize. They came with a chopper, politicized the issue and then went back with a chopper,” said Basant Soren attacking the BJP.

On being asked about the accusations of shielding the Sub-divisional police officer Noor Mustafa Ansari, over his alleged role in the Dumka rape case, the JMM MLA said that “No, the government hasn’t shielded anyone. The SDPO is a government servant and not a relative of the government. If there are certain accusations on him, then a proper investigation will be done and if anything is found, proper action will be taken.”

Soren also said that the party welcomes Nitish Kumar for uniting the opposition.

“We welcome Nitish Kumar for the role of uniting the opposition. The ultimate decision will be taken by our party high-command,” he said. (ANI)

‘Ranchi Police Used Bullets Where Lathicharge Would Suffice’

Shahanawaz Akhtar, editor of enewsroom.in, an independent media portal, says police action on Muslims protesting remarks against Prophet Mohammad, raises some unsettling questions

I think that the top brass of the bureaucracy and the police in Ranchi and in the entire state of Jharkhand were simply not prepared to tackle the unrest and outrage which followed the inflammatory comments made by two BJP spokespersons against Prophet Mohammad. It has been rather surprising that despite the change of regime in the state, and the installation of a secular government in Ranchi, there has been no change in the structure and content of the bureaucracy and police administration.

In several districts of the state, IAS and IPS officers who reigned during the earlier BJP regime, continue to call the shots. There seems to be no change in the character of the administration when it comes to dealing with Dalits, Adivasis and the minorities at the ground level.

As far as the violence in Ranchi is concerned, clearly, it was tackled with very little maturity and discretion by the police. First, there was a small crowd of protesters, barely 200-plus, who were protesting. They could have been easily persuaded to not indulge in violence and keep their protest peaceful. Water cannon, tear gas, and a mild lathicharge could have been used after prior warnings.

Why did the police reportedly fire 150 rounds and many of them above the waist…? Why were the two innocent bystanders killed even when they were reportedly not part of the protests…? The crowd did not seem to be moving towards the Hanuman Mandir, so why did they not use other time-tested tactics to stop their protest…? Why did they resort to direct firing and so soon…?

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These are unnerving and difficult questions, even while the internet was banned after the trouble. Indeed, in many ways the current Jharkhand government, with its reasonably good track record, is under a shadow of sorts. Besides, they have been under tremendous pressure from the central government with central agencies conducting raids and pushing the state government to a corner.

Clearly, there is much to learn for the police and the administration after the Ranchi violence. Besides, since this is a state capital, order has been restored reasonably quickly. However, the death of two innocent citizens, and the bitter communal polarisation consequently, under a secular government, will remain a deep cause of concern in the days to come.

A path-breaking bill against mob-lynching has been passed in the state assembly. Certainly, hate crimes have stopped to a large extent and the vicious spate of mob-lynchings targeting the minorities during the earlier the BJP government has all but stopped. But lynchings do continue as a disturbing trend; at least five such incidents have happened under the chief ministership of Hemant Soren, including that of a tribal and a Dalit. This, indeed, is a cause of serious concern.