JMM supporters wait for Shibu Soren’s arrival at the Jamtara court campus. Picture by Gautam Dey

Jamtara, Aug 2: “Jail ka taala tootega; Shibu Soren chhootega,” chanted the crowd that had thronged d the Jamtara court campus as Durga Soren, son of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha patriarch, announced over the public address system that the bail plea of his father had been rejected.

The air was filled with anti-BJP slogans even as the junior Soren made frantic appeals to the crowd to calm down.

Rage writ large on their faces, the crowd demanded that they wanted to see their leader. “Kaafi intezar ke baad pata chala mere pita aur hum sab ke guruji ka bail cancel ho gaya hai (After a long wait, we have come to know that the bail plea of my father and our Guruji has been rejected),” said Durga, as commotion broke out in the restive mob that had braved the scorching heat and humid weather for the whole day.

The junior Soren reminded the party supporters of the appeal his father had made shortly after arriving in the court. “Agar guruji ka pratishtha bachana hai, to shantipurvak apne apne ghar chale jaaiye (If you want to save the reputation of Guruji, then please return to your homes peacefully),” he said, while assuring the people that a line of action against the government would be chalked out tomorrow.

Sensing the mood among the people, the local authorities fitted a public address system on the staircase of the fourth additional district and sessions judge’s court and requested Durga, himself a legislator, to speak to the crowd to cool down the temperature.

He said the JMM workers were not indisciplined like the BJP and that he had faith in the judiciary. Durga said the agitation would continue till the NDA government in the state was ousted from power.

Jamtara buzzed with activity right from early morning as JMM supporters gradually made their way to the district and sessions court where their Guruji was to appear in connection with the Chirudih massacre case of 1975 on the directions of Jharkhand High Court.

People took positions on roofs and treetops to catch a glimpse of Soren as he surrendered. Rapid Action Force jawans had a tough time controlling the crowd which tried to break the police cordon several times. It was a long wait since Soren was scheduled to appear before the court by 11 am. But his lawyers took some time to move the court since a petition filed by Soren in another case was being heard simultaneously in the Giridih court.

Around 12 noon, Soren’s counsel R.K. Jain and R.S. Majumdar announced that he would now appear by 2 pm. But that did not deter the JMM supporters. The authorities were alarmed when a large branch of a nearby banyan tree broke, not being able to withstand the weight of those who had climbed atop it.