The Hemant Soren government on Saturday announced a government job and monetary compensation worth ₹1.29 crore to the family of slain constable Chauhan Hembrom, hours after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi visited the ancestral home of the deceased in the Giridih district.
On August 11, convicted criminal Shahid Ansari allegedly killed Hembrom at Hazaribag Medical College, where the former was admitted for treatment and the victim was on duty guarding him.
According to the police, Ansari killed Hembrom during the night, managed to escape and is still at large.
To express solidarity with Hembrom’s family, a BJP team led by the Sarma, who is also the BJP’s co-in-charge for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls, arrived in Bengabad in the Giridih district on Saturday morning, only to find that the house was locked. The team later met Hembrom’s mother, who came after being informed of their arrival.
The BJP delegation accused the state machinery of moving Hembrom’s family members to an undisclosed location in anticipation of their visit.
“We have been told that local police took the entire family away at 4:30 am in the name of doing some paperwork in Hazaribag. Even their in-laws were taken away. Later, Hembrom’s mother, who lives elsewhere, came here, and we met her. It’s good if something good comes out of this. However, it is surprising that it’s been more than a week since prisoner Shahid Ansari killed Hembrom, and the police have failed to arrest the accused,” Sarma told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}“We have been told that local police took the entire family away at 4:30 am in the name of doing some paperwork in Hazaribag. Even their in-laws were taken away. Later, Hembrom’s mother, who lives elsewhere, came here, and we met her. It’s good if something good comes out of this. However, it is surprising that it’s been more than a week since prisoner Shahid Ansari killed Hembrom, and the police have failed to arrest the accused,” Sarma told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}“I request the chief minister to also think about a poor fellow tribal and arrest the accused soon, ensuring capital punishment for him,” he added.
Jharkhand BJP chief Marandi accused the Hemant Soren government of not arresting Ansari due to “appeasement politics”.
“All such crimes are happening because this government harbours criminals. And this incident shows the level of appeasement politics of this regime. This government is stopping us even from meeting the victims. Recently, they stopped us from going to Gopinathpur (in Pakur), and now they have shifted the entire family of the victim. But they won’t be able to hide the truth for long by doing all this,” said Marandi.
Hours after the BJP leaders’ visit, the chief minister’s office (CMO) released a statement and pictures of Hembrom’s family meeting chief minister Hemant Soren at his official residence in the state capital.
According to the statement, the chief minister promised a job and monetary compensation to the family, besides assuring them that the accused would be arrested at the earliest.
“The family of Constable Chauhan Hembrom met the chief minister at his official residence. The chief minister assured the family of justice at all costs. The DGP has been directed to arrest the accused at the earliest and ensure exemplary punishment that acts as a deterrent,” the CMO statement said.
It added that the chief minister has also assured the family of providing a government job to one of Hembrom’s dependents, in addition to providing a total monetary compensation of ₹1.29 crore.