Patna, Feb 24 : After the encounter in Sitamarhi on Wednesday afternoon, the opposition parties slammed the Bihar government for having ‘no control’ over the law and order situation in the state.
RJD MLC Subodh Rai said: “The way liquor mafias attacked the police and snuffed out the life of a sub-inspector rank officer indicates that the home department, which comes under Nitish Kumar, has no control over law and order in the state.They (mafias) are rampaging in several districts of Bihar without any fear of the police.”
Encounters with Maoist elements is one thing, but it is alarming if liquor mafias become so powerful that they don’t hesitate to take the lives of police personnel, Rai said.
Liquor is smuggled into Bihar from other states with the silent support of the police, the RJD leader said, as he demanded a thorough probe into the matter.
The encounter broke out in Kunwari village in Sitamarhi on Wednesday afternoon after a police team reached the village.
After seeing the police team, the mafias opened fired on them.In the ensuing encounter, a sub-inspector was killed, while another received gunshot injuries.
A liquor mafia named Ranjan Singh was killed in retaliatory firing by the police team.
Mritunjay Kumar Singh, the president of the Bihar Police Association, alleged: “SPs of the districts, instead of giving directions to the police, apply pressure on them.The state government should give adequate compensation to the deceased person’s family.”
State Energy Minister Bijendra Yadav courted controversy after he said: “Where is crime not taking place these days? Firing also took place in the Parliament of the US.England had made CrPC 250 years ago but the jails over there are empty.Are incidents not happening in other families?”
Amit Kumar, ADG (law and order), said: “We have taken strong action against liquor mafias.They will be brought out of their den and will get appropriate punishment under the law.The state government has announced compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the deceased’s family and government job for one family member
.
