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Prohibitory orders in Deoghar ahead of Shivratri, BJP MP moves court
Prohibitory orders were issued by Deoghar subdivisional magistrate Deepankar Chaudhary on February 13, citing the need “for better crowd management”.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey Thursday moved the Jharkhand high court seeking quashing of prohibitory orders imposed earlier this week in the temple town of Deoghar for Shivratri (February 18), when lakhs of devotees visit the famous Baba Baidyanath temple there.
Deoghar falls under Godda Lok Sabha constituency represented by Dubey, who has alleged that the prohibitory orders, clamped under section 144 of the code of criminal procedure (CrPC), were arbitrary and done on instructions of the state government for vote bank politics.
Prohibitory orders were issued by Deoghar subdivisional magistrate Deepankar Chaudhary on February 13, citing the need “for better crowd management”.
“We filed the petition today and will mention it before acting chief justice Paresh Kumar Singh tomorrow morning for immediate hearing. We have prayed before the court to quash the notification that has imposed section 144, besides other unreasonable restrictions like the route for the procession. The event is happening after two years and there is no Covid protocol in place or any other restriction mandated by the disaster management department. Issuing such an order at the last hour is arbitrary as all preparations were made,” said Diwakar Upadhyay, counsel of Nishikant Dubey.
13 arrested, flag march at Panki
Meanwhile, police and Rapid Action Force (RAF), led by inspector general (IG) of police Rajkumar Lakra, conducted a flag march in Panki town of Palamu district that witnessed a communal clash two days ago over installation of a temporary gate outside a mosque for Shivratri celebrations.
“In all, 13 people have been arrested so far for violence. A case has been registered against 1,000 unidentified people. More arrests would follow. The situation is under control,” Palamu superintendent of police (SP) Chandan Sinha told reporters.
Deputy commissioner A Dode and SP Chandan Sinha were camping for the second consecutive day at Panki, where mobile internet services were suspended following the violence and arson in which at least half a dozen policemen were injured.
Meanwhile, the oppsotion BJP and ruling JMM accused each other of igniting communal clashes in the state.
“These are not isolated incidents. They have been planned with an eye on votes. In last three years, there have been several such incidents because the government deliberately fails to act against miscreants due to vote bank politics and boosts their morale in the process,” said BJP legislature party leader Babulal Marandi.
JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said, “Just check the association of the fringe elements behind such incidents and you would know who all are acting behind the curtains. BJP stokes communal violence and when they fail due to the strong social fabric, they make such baseless allegations.”
