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Crime in 2021: Prohibition kept Bihar cops busy, 9 get death for hooch tragedy
A blast at Darbhanga railway station in a parcel arriving from Secunderabad, though minor which caused no injuries, became a cause of concern after the probe revealed a terror link.
The year 2021 kept the Bihar Police on its toes. While enforcing liquor prohibition remained the biggest challenge, corruption in officialdom kept the vigilance wing busy in the last quarter of the year, which saw frequent raids and searches. A blast at Darbhanga railway station in a parcel arriving from Secunderabad, though minor which caused no injuries, became a cause of concern after the probe revealed a terror link.
Additional director general of police (headquarters) Jitendra Singh Gangwar said there was no let-up in crackdown against outlaws. “In 2020, about 1,417 criminals were convicted across the state while 2,565 criminals have been convicted so far in 2021. Similarly, in corruption cases, the Economic Offences Unit (EoU) and Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) launched a drive against corrupt government officials and lodged more than 20 cases,” said Gangwar.
Liquor smuggling
In prohibition cases, Bihar Police registered around 60,000 FIRs, arrested over 75,000 persons, including 1,800 hailing from outside the state, and convicted 253 people in 2021. The police seized 13, 839 vehicles in this connection.
Death sentence for hooch tragedy
A Gopalganj court awarded death sentence to nine people in the 2016 hooch tragedy case in which 19 people died and two lost vision. The court sent four of the women accused to life imprisonment. Prohibition was enforced in Bihar on April 5, 2016.
Terror cases
On June 17, a parcel containing clothes sent from Secunderabad to Darbhanga by a train exploded while being unloaded. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on December 24, filed a charge sheet against five people, including Hafiz Iqbal alias Kana, an alleged operative of terror outfit LeT.
A special NIA court of Patna awarded life sentences to three terrorists of Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and 10 years’ imprisonment to five others for the IED explosion in Bodh Gaya in 2018 when Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was camping in the town to participate in the month-long Kalachakra puja.
Four of the nine men convicted for the 2013 blasts at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan were sentenced to death by an NIA court in Patna, which also sentenced the five other convicts to prison terms ranging from life to seven years.
Six people were killed and 90 others injured in seven blasts on October 27, 2013, right before BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi was to reach the venue to address an election meeting.
Judge versus police
The Patna High Court took suo motu cognizance after two police officers in Madhubani district allegedly assaulted an additional district judge at Jhanjharpur subdivisional court. One of the police officers, a station house officer, was relieved of his charge after the judge filed a complaint. The policemen have also alleged that they were assaulted by lawyers and court staff. The HC is still hearing the case.
Murder that rocked Bihar
IndiGo Airlines’ manager Rupesh Kumar Singh was shot dead on January 12 outside his residence in Patna, a killing that hit the national headlines.
On February 3, police arrested a youth, identified as Rituraj Singh, 28, and claimed he killed Rupesh days after the latter’s car hit his bike that led to an altercation between the two.
Crackdown on corruption
Two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, four deputy SP rank officers and four other officials were suspended for their alleged role illegal mining. All are currently facing departmental proceedings.
HC lets off massacre accused
Setting aside the conviction by a district court, the Patna High Court acquitted all the 13 accused in the 1999 Senari massacre case in which 34 upper caste people were killed allegedly by members of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in Senari village, then part of Jehanabad district and now in Arwal district. The Supreme Court has agreed to examine an appeal of the Bihar government against the High Court’s judgment.
1,582 sub-inspectors inducted
The understaffed Bihar Police inducted 1582 sub-inspectors, including 596 women after the passing out parade at the Bihar Police Academy (BPA) in Rajgir, which was attended by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
