Promises made by chief minister Nitish Kumar to ensure law and order seem to have fallen by the wayside as cases related to extortion and killing seem to be making a return to haunt the people of Bihar. In the last few weeks a senior police official, one ruling party MLA and several doctors have become victims of the extortion racket in the state.
The return of extortion, or “rangdari tax”, racket first came to light on June 24, when Kosi range DIG Chandrika Prasad received a call from criminals who wanted Rs 25 lakh from him. Another incident which created a flutter within the state government was when Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Nand Kumar Rai was asked on June 25 to cough up Rs 20 lakh as rangdari tax.
The police, which registered an FIR in both the cases, claimed that the criminals behind the incident will be arrested soon. These incidents also expose as hollow Mr Kumar’s claims that the “rule of law prevails in Bihar and the government will not spare criminals.”
In December 2015, barely a month after the Grand Secular Alliance government came to power in the state, three engineers, two businessmen and one student were killed by antisocial elements. Similarly, in January, one jeweller was murdered in Patna and two more murders were reported in May and June.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has been quick to point fingers at the increasing lawlessness in Bihar, saying, “These criminals have lost all fear of law and are defying the government. Professionals like engineers and doctors are their soft targets.”
In May, a Patna based medical practitioner, Dr P.K. Jha, was attacked when he was returning to Patna from Paliganj in central Bihar. Though he survived the attack, his assistant, who was with him in his car, sustained severe bullet injuries. Three days before that incident a renowned doctor and owner of a leading nursing home received a call from criminals who demanded Rs 50 lakh from him. A similar incident was reported on May 21 when a Patna-based doctor received a bullet wrapped in a letter from criminals who wanted extortion money of Rs 50 lakh from him.
Speaking on the issue, IMA Bihar president Sachidanand Kumar said, “The situation in Bihar has changed completely and doctors are facing difficulty in carrying out their work with ease here. We have requested the DGP to issue arms licences to doctors for self-protection.”
According to reports from across the state, over 100 doctors have applied for arms licence. “Most of the applications are still pending in various administrative offices,” confirmed a source.
The extortion business poses a big challenge for the chief minister. Blaming the RJD for the return of the extortion menace, senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav said, “In the previous regime, JD(U), which had formed the government in alliance with BJP, had completely wiped out organised crime but this time they have returned because Nitish Kumar joined hands with a party which has a history of harbouring criminals.”
Just before the formation of the JD(U)-BJP government in 2005 extortion and kidnapping of doctors, engineers, contractors and businessmen had taken the shape of an industry which was being run by various mafia dons with high political connections. Many businessmen had folded their businesses and migrated to other states. Likewise many specialist doctors left the state. Many doctors had to hire personal security men and gunmen to protect themselves from extortionists and kidnappers. “The current situation in Bihar reminds us of pre-2005 era when mafia and gangsters used to rule and kidnapping for ransom and extortion was common in Bihar,” IMA Bihar joint secretary Brajnandan said.
However, JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok said that there was no decline in rule of law and strict measures were being taken to control the situation.
He said, “Every incident is being handled strictly and police has been asked to launch a special drive to check cases related to extortion and kidnapping. The government will not let Bihar turn back to pre-2005 era.”
