WHEN WILL THE GUNS STOP BOOMING?

When Nitish Kumar took over the reins of Bihar in November 2005 after routing the Rashtriya Janata Dal and its allies, everybody wanted to know what the new dispensation had in mind to remove the state?s ?lawless? tag.

Over six months have passed since then and a casual glance at the situation will suggest that things are not too different from the RJD days. But there is more than meets the eye as the government has been quietly and steadily taking steps that can make a difference in the long run.

One of the most positive signs is the action initiated against the badshahs of Bihar?s badlands.

Lok Janshakti Party MP Suraj Bhan, a true Bihar strongman, faces two chargesheets, including one for murder, and an expedited trial.

The man who never remains out of news for long, RJD Lok Sabha member Mohammad Shahabuddin, has come under the scanner for being allowed to travel from Bhagalpur to Siwan in a luxury car. Also, he faces several criminal cases, including one for possessing illegal arms.

The ruling party, too, has a name on the list ? Janata Dal MP Prabhunath Singh ? who was recently chargesheeted by fast-track courts in Bhagalpur in connection with several cases of murder and attempt to murder.

Says Afzal Amanullah, the no-nonsense home secretary: ?We will enforce the rule of law irrespective of a person?s profile.?

The numbers, too, are encouraging. Around 1,400 criminals have been convicted in the past three months ? no mean achievement for a state known for slow or no justice.

Fast-track courts have become a key part of the legal machinery and several of these have come up for quick disposal of cases.

A big step towards delivering speedy justice was taken recently when the Rohtas district and sessions court awarded life sentence to 10 persons in an abduction case.

The court took only 18 working days to give its judgment, a feat no less remarkable than the superfast rape trials in Jodhpur and Alwar.

The Special Auxiliary Force comprising ex-servicemen was formed earlier this year with the aim of giving policing a boost. The government also initiated a probe into the 1989 Bhagalpur riots.

The chief minister believes that ?feeling safe? is more important than figures. And going by the reactions of people to queries on ?feeling safe?, Nitish should have something to smile about.

From shopkeepers to working women and senior citizens, the number of those who feel safe is quite high, at least in the urban areas.

Sunil Prasad, who runs a studio near Patna railway station, says: ?During the previous rule, goons would take Rs 30-40 from people like us as rangdari. But they have not troubled us in the past six months.?

Gandhi Sangrahayalaya director Razi Ahmad, who has been in Patna for over 50 years, feels that ?there is a change in both perception and reality? as far as law and order is concerned.

The positives notwithstanding, large parts of Bihar still continue to be as lawless as ever.

The recent massacres in Nalanda and Sheikhpura ? in which 16 people were killed ? did enough to show that caste, gang war and the culture of revenge were still a potent and dangerous combination in Bihar. Nitish?s assurance that the culprits would be brought to book was no balm for those affected.

Unlike last year?s Assembly elections, the panchayat polls have been a violent affair so far, especially in the initial rounds. The killings have shown the inadequacies of the state police force to check poll violence.

While no official figure is available on the overall crime scenario, newspaper clippings and other sources suggest that there have been around 900 murders and 290 abductions in the past six months. Besides, cases of loot and other crimes are also common.

The decision to scrap the Amir Das commission, which had been given the task of probing the Ranbir Sena?s alleged links with politicians in the wake of Laxmanpur-Bathe massacre in 1997, on the grounds of delay was not well accepted by many in the state. The sceptics also smelt a rat in the suggestion that some senior BJP leaders could be associated with the upper caste private army.

The Maoists continue to pose a major challenge to the government. In April, hours after the government talked tough about taking on the Left-wing rebels, the latter blasted a railway cabin and tracks in the eastern Bihar districts of Jamui and Munger.

Before that, the Naxalites had struck by killing six persons in an ambush in Aurangabad district.

Speaking to The Telegraph, spokesperson of Bihar police Anil Kumar Sinha said he would rather speak on the ?positive steps? than answer the ?tricky queries?.

Sinha claimed that more than 190 criminals have surrendered in response to the state?s ?get cash for surrender? policy.

About the transfer of the 2002 Rajdhani case from the railway police to the Criminal Investigation Department, he said the deputy inspector-general of Magadh range had ?not sought the headquarters? permission? before transferring the matter.

The police spokesperson said the state has launched the ?government-at-your-door? programme to deal with socio-economic problems, a move that can help address the Maoist problem. (To be continued)