Rising crime graph, mob-lynching incidents bedevil Nitish government

Patna: Nitish Kumar returned to power in 2015 on the issue of good governance, but his government has of late come under sharp criticism over rising crime graph and incidents of  mob  lynching  in the state.

With less than a year left for 2020 Assembly elections, the Opposition parties have been hinting at using “lawlessness” as a poll agenda.

The Assembly on Monday witnessed unruly scenes as the Opposition blamed the state government for rising incidents of mob lynching and demanded strict action against the perpetrators.

Political observers claim that Nitish Kumar’s foremost agenda was to end “Jungle Raj” in Bihar when he came to power for the first time in 2005. Several criminals were arrested and later convicted and sent to jail which resulted in a massive electoral loss to the RJD.

JD-U leaders here claim that it was Nitish Kumar’s clean image and good governance policy that kept the RJD and Congress out of Bihar for more than a decade.

Reacting sharply to the rising crime graph, former chief minister and senior RJD leader Rabri Devi said, “Rising crime is an indication that Nitish Kumar’s good governance policy has failed. There is an atmosphere of chaos in the state. Incidents of rape, murder, kidnapping, loot, and  mob  lynching are on the rise in Bihar.”

The RJD says that the crime graph started climbing after JD(U) returned to the NDA fold and formed a government with the BJP in July 2017.

“The latest statistics show the situation of lawlessness in Bihar.  Nitish  Kumar  has been silent over the issue,” RJD spokesperson Bhai Virendra said.

In last one week, three incidents of mob lynching have been reported from across the state. On June 19, three persons were beaten to death in Saran over suspicion of cattle theft. Similar incidents were also reported from Vaishali and Supaul districts.

Earlier this week while addressing the state Assembly during a debate on the Budget for the home department, chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed concern over the growing influence of social media and pointed out that rumours shared on these platforms were contributing to law and order problems in Bihar.

However, he also accepted that there has been a rise in the incidents of murder and dacoity.

“Incidents of riots have dipped by 32 per cent and kidnapping for ransom once rampant in Bihar has also gone down by 44 per cent. Incidents of burglary have also dipped. But when we look at the figures for murder and dacoity, there has been a rise of two per cent and eight per cent till May this year,” the chief minister said.

Nitish Kumar who also chaired a review meeting on law and order earlier this week directed the police to tackle rising incidents of crime by identifying criminals and taking stern action against them. Mr Kumar also asked the senior officials to have a face-to-face interaction with field officers for effective crime control in their districts.

“Officials have been asked to take stern action against criminals,” sources said.

Reports suggest that the state government is working hard to upgrade the facilities and bring reforms in the policing in order to curb the rising crime graph. Officials said that the focus is on improving the maintenance of law and order and investigation process at the level of police station.