Patna, Oct. 20: Confusion, rumour and suspicion led to the clash at Dhanarua village under Basantpur police station in Siwan district on Wednesday, which left three persons dead and 15 others, including three policemen, injured. The condition of one of the injured cops, Manoj Kumar, is said to be critical.
Inspector-general (Tirhut range) (IG) Gupteshwar Pandey, who air-dashed to Siwan yesterday to take stock of the situation, said on Thursday that the violence was issueless and was precipitated merely by confusion, rumour and suspicion. “The incident was uncalled for and it should not have happened,” he said.
The IG, however, praised the cops for maintaining exemplary restrain even after receiving grievous injuries in stone pelting. “No policeman opened fire and maintained restrain, which shows how carefully they handled the situation,” he said, adding that a major incident was averted due to their calm and restrain.
Pandey said, “As there was a lot of confusion and a stampede-like situation prevailed, three people were badly hit by a police vehicle, leading to their death. A trainee sub-inspector, who suffered serious injuries in the stone pelting, is still unconscious. He has suffered brain hemorrhage,” he said.
Sources said the people were adamant on teaching the suspected child lifter a lesson as they suspected that the police would release her after questioning at the police station. “In a similar incident, a woman suspected to be a member of the child lifters’ gang was caught by the residents of Jamo village a fortnight ago and subsequently handed over to the police, who let her off,” a local resident said under the cover of anonymity.
The IG said that he would hold janata darbar in Madarpur and its adjoining areas after Chhath Puja to listen to the grievances of the people and try to know the reasons behind the sudden upsurge. “Wednesday’s incident might be the handiwork of some criminals who tried to exploit the situation to suit their vested interests,” he told The Telegraph.
Even on Thursday, a group of people tried to create trouble by putting up road blockade on the outskirts of the village. The police, however, acted promptly and removed the blockade. Additional armed forces have been deployed at the village to prevent any untoward incident, a senior police officer posted in Siwan said.
Meanwhile, Siwan district magistrate Lokesh Kumar announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to those killed in the incident, besides Rs 10,000 under family benefits scheme and Rs 15,000 each under Kabir Anthesthi scheme for funeral. Local MLA Bhumendra Narain Singh alias Chunnu Babu also provided Rs 5,000 each to the aggrieved families.
Taking a serious note of the incident, Siwan superintendent of police Amrit Raj on Thursday removed the station house officer of Basantpur police station, Ravindra Mochi. He has been replaced by Sujay Vidyarthi, who assumed charge today. The SP, however, did not confirm the suspension of the SHO.
Mochi, along with trainee sub-inspector Manoj and assistant sub-inspector M.P. Singh, is undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital where the condition of Manoj is stated to be serious. Meanwhile, Urmila Kunwar, the suspected child lifter, is undergoing treatment at Sadar hospital in Siwan. “Efforts are on to ascertain her identity. We have already contacted our UP counterparts for the purpose,” a police officer posted at Basantpur police station said. No arrests have been made so far.
