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Jharkhand heading towards ‘Mahajungleraj’, alleges state BJP chief Aditya Sahu
“The law and order system has completely collapsed in the state, and the fear of police among criminals has diminished totally. Earlier, crimes were centred on the smuggling of coal, iron ore and stone chips, and illegal mining. Now, kidnapping has become an organised industry in Jharkhand where no one is safe. The state is moving towards ‘Mahajungleraj’ like Bihar of the 1990s, when goons and criminals ruled the roost without any fear,” Sahu, also a Rajya Sabha MP, told the media after meeting ASIA VP Devang Gandhi, father of the kidnapped Kairav Gandhi, and the family twice at their Circuit House residence.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jharkhand unit president Aditya Sahu on Saturday alleged that the state was sliding towards “Mahajungleraj”, with kidnapping turning into an “organised industry”, amid continuing uncertainty over the abduction of Jamshedpur’s young industrialist Kairav Gandhi, who remains traceless even after 12 days.
“Eleven days have passed, but the police have failed to provide any concrete information. Children in Ranchi, Bokaro and Koderma have been missing for months, and the state government is a mute spectator. Lands of tribals are being looted, crimes against women are on the rise, and people are feeling insecure. If the kidnapped boy is not rescued safely soon, the BJP will be compelled to intensify its movement on the streets,” Aditya Sahu warned.
“The law and order system has completely collapsed in the state, and the fear of police among criminals has diminished totally. Earlier, crimes were centred around the smuggling of coal, iron ore and stone chips, and illegal mining. Now, kidnapping has become an organised industry in Jharkhand where no one is safe. The state is moving towards ‘Mahajungleraj’ like Bihar of the 1990s, when goons and criminals ruled the roost without any fear,” Sahu, also a Rajya Sabha MP, told the media after meeting ASIA VP Devang Gandhi, father of the kidnapped Kairav Gandhi, and the family twice at their Circuit House residence.
Sahu visited Jamshedpur on Friday solely to meet the Gandhi family, along with top BJP leaders such as Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das and other senior leaders.
Meanwhile, police seized and brought a white hatchback car from Vaishali, Bihar, which was allegedly used in the kidnapping of Kairav Gandhi, apart from a white SUV with a police sticker spotted at the Pata, Bundu and Purulia toll plazas. The car has now been kept at the Kadma police station in Jamshedpur.
“The investigation has now focused on the honey-trapping of Kairav Gandhi by a young woman, due to which he neither went to his plant in Adityapur nor deposited a cheque of ₹1.50 lakh in the bank. He hurriedly returned home and stepped out immediately, and the criminals who were already waiting kidnapped him easily and without any resistance within 500 metres of his house. We suspect anaesthetic or some drug injections were also used. His girlfriend and other friends are also being questioned. The Chandan Sonar gang and the Arvind gang have previously kidnapped high-profile industrialists and businessmen using honey traps. Raids are ongoing at locations linked to Bihar, West Bengal, Mumbai, Gujarat and Nepal,” one of the investigators said.
Investigators said the probe has identified photos of the suspected kidnappers from CCTV footage of the hatchback car seized from Vaishali.
“The Ajay Pratap Singh gang of Rafiganj in Aurangabad district is also under the scanner. This gang had kidnapped Gaya’s Dr Pankaj Gupta and his wife, Shubhra Gupta, from NH-2 in 2015, a prominent contractor from Rohtas, and Sunedha Durlabhji, wife of one of Jaipur’s famous jewellers, in 2003. Their style involves taking hostages in a VIP convoy with fake police escort vehicles and making ransom demands of up to ₹20 crore. He is currently in jail, and we are trying to take him on remand,” another officer said.
The Jharkhand ATS, CID and an SIT comprising 10 separate teams—including two DSPs and eight inspectors, 20 SIs from Jamshedpur, and two DSPs, three inspectors and 10 SIs from the Seraikela-Kharsawan district—are involved in the probe. DGP Tadasha Mishra is personally monitoring the investigation.
