Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, was unable to keep his
legendary cool today as he confronted questions about why powerful
politicians linked to his government appear to have central roles in
recent big crimes.
When I asked the Chief Minister today about
this, referring to Manorama Devi, the woman leader from his party who
has gone underground because the police wants to arrest her, Mr Kumar
snapped, "You tell me where Manorama Devi is. I will make you the
investigating officer."
Last week, Manorama Devi's son, Rocky
Yadav was arrested for shooting a Class 12 student dead in Gaya in
Bihar. Mr Yadav, 24, was allegedly unable to bear that the student,
Aditya Sachdeva, had overtaken him. Though it took two days to locate Mr
Yadav, hiding in a factory owned by his family, his mother has been
charged not with helping to orchestrate his temporary escape, but
because liquor was found in her home. Bihar is a dry state.
"I am
not obsessed with prohibition," the Chief Minister told reporters
today, retaliating to the opposition's charges that his administration's
focus on ensuring alcohol is not sold in Bihar has come at the cost of
maintaining law and order. "It's not all jungle raj in Bihar," the Chief
Minister said, referring to the opposition BJP's accusation that Bihar
is being torn apart by lawlessness.
On Friday night, senior
journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was shot dead in Siwan in Bihar. Mr Ranjan,
the bureau chief for Hindi-language daily Hindustan, was travelling on
his motorcycle when a group of men shot him five times. Mr Ranjan, 46,
had reported extensively on criminal Mohammed Shahabuddin, in jail since
2005 for a series of murders. Mr Shahabuddin maintains close links to
Lalu Yadav, whose party co-governs Bihar with Mr Kumar's Janata Dal
United or JDU. It was during Lalu's stints as Chief Minister of Bihar
that the term "jungle raj" became a top descriptor for the state.
The police have arrested a man named Upendra Singh, seen as a right-hand aide of Mr Shahabuddin, Read more ndtv.com
