How another Millennium City faces a very Bihar problem

The dream of a modern, affluent township in Bihta is being punctured by a nightmare that is all too familiar in Bihar

The small town of Bihta, 30km west of Patna, has always held pride of place in Bihar’s history. It was here that Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, one of India’s most prominent farmer leaders during the freedom struggle lived and worked, setting up the Sitaram Ashram that stands to this day. It was here, in 1932, that Ramkrishna Dalmia set up a sugar factory, appointing Dr Rajendra Prasad to the board of directors. And it was in Bihta that the Indian Air Force set up a station after the 1962 war with China.

Despite being a rapidly developing township, Bihta has been plagued by crime, with gunshots ringing out in its streets (HT Photo)

Then, in 2007, came another major shift in Bihta’s identity. Struggling to find a solution to a cramped Patna, the state government turned to Bihta, acquiring 500 acres of land to set up a new Indian Institute of Technology. A decade-and-a-half later, the block headquarters has turned into a bustling satellite city. A double-laned road, lined by large commercial establishments on both sides, now connects Bihta to Patna. Land values have skyrocketed – roughly 20 times in the last decade – and both residential and commercial establishments are now available on rent. Outside some homes stand spanking new SUVs.

Over the past 14 years, Bihta’s topography has grown to include the Footware Design and Development Institute (FDDI), the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, the NS Medical College and Hospital and the ESI Hospital which is being developed into another medical college, a Hero Cycles factory, an IT Park, and the zonal headquarters of the National Disaster Relief Force. Work on a new 51 hectare National Institute of Technology campus is set to start next month. But the jewel in the crown will be Bihta airport – Patna’s second commercial airport – work on which began in April, and which is expected to finish in 2022. The state government acquired 128 acres of land to develop the existing IAF base in Bihta, and expand it for civilian aviation.

The state government has spent at least ₹650 crore on the acquisition of land for government establishments including the development of the airport over the past 15 years. Bihta’s population has grown, too, from 47,500 in 2011 to around 265,000 now, according to the administration’s estimates.

Yet, Bihta’s story is not just one of a rapidly developing township. Drawn by the increasing affluence, crime has followed, and gunshots have started ringing out in its streets. Its residents and businessmen now live in fear, with 14 murders over August and September. The government has admitted it is a cause for concern. And the dream of a modern, affluent township is being punctured by a nightmare that is all too familiar in Bihar.

Land and crime

Police records in Bihta show that between August 11 and September 26, 14 murders were recorded within police station limits, including those of two land brokers and a trader. At large fraction of the remaining murders were linked to disputes over land, now an increasingly valuable commodity. The records further show that the police station area saw four murders in May, six in June, and then 9 in July, highlighting a rising trend.

A decade ago, a kattha of agricultural land (a popular local measure of 1,362 sq feet) cost around 20,000. Now, that same land is valued between ₹40 and ₹50 lakh, according to local land dealers. “If your land is situated on the state highway or the national highway that cuts through Bihta, buyers even give blank cheques!” said Ajit Kumar Babloo, a real estate broker operating in the area, resorting to hyperbole that isn’t misplaced.

A senior IPS officer, who did not wish to be named, said: “Land and money are at the centre of it all. Two of those killed were landowners and two were brokers. The trader who was killed allegedly refused to pay rangdari (extortion tax) to gangsters. Many criminals are now engaged in the land sale-purchase business, as the cost of land has shot up considerably over the past five-six years. Moreover, many plots are under dispute as the circle office is unable to solve cases promptly due to a shortage of staff,” said the officer.

For those that have invested in Bihta, the rising crime graph has brought a sense of fear, and perhaps a some regret.

Vijay Kumar Sharma bought a 20-acre plot near the upcoming NIT campus in 2010 at the cost of ₹2 lakh per acre. His plans were to build a three storeyed commercial complex on the plot, which would cost about ₹15 to ₹20 lakh per unit now, and then rent the space out on a long-term lease. There is now a great measure of doubt in his plans. “We are reeling under the constant fear of being attacked by criminals, and this has escalated considerably in the recent past. Bihta is emerging as what Noida and Gurugram meant to Delhi in terms infrastructure development. The land has turned to gold, but that has brought with it a seeming danger to life,” said Sharma.

Other local businessmen said that, in Bihta, rangdaari or extortion is commonplace. The demands vary based on the target’s capacity to pay and the influence that particular gang commands in the area. “These extortion rackets are being run even from prisons. Gangs have started focusing on Bihta once the government announced the setting up of big institutions and industries,” a local trader who pays ₹30,000 a month for his “safety” said on condition of anonymity.

Ramashish Sinha, who was born in Bihta and is a former teacher at Maner High School, says that he has seen Bihta turn from a “peaceful and predominantly rural area” to what it is today. “Statistics don’t always reflect the magnitude of crime. The murders of businessmen and senior citizens are of particular concern, because they instil fear in the minds of common people. I miss the time this was a peaceful predominantly rural area until its urbanisation,” said Sinha, 70, who now lives in Katesar village.

Local farmers also told HT that they were being threatened to give up their land at throwaway rates.

“Small farmers reluctant to sell are being threatened and attacked. No one is feeling safe here anymore. There is a rivalry for the control of the ghats for sand mining as well,” said Rajeshwar Singh, a farmer from Sherpur.

Police officers said that, thus far, they have identified three gangs. The Mahakaal gang, led by 28-year-old Amit Kumar, is considered the strongest. Thirteen cases of murder and extortion have been lodged against Kumar in the state since 2017. Two others, called the Soda gang, headed by Rajeet Kumar, and the Dahi Gope gang, led by Guddu Yadav, are also in operation, the officers said. They added that is remains difficult to directly tie these gangs to the incidents of crime.

The city’s Superintendent of Police (West), Ashok Kumar Mishra, maintained that police have received no complaints of extortion either from industrialists or businessmen. “We can only act if they come forward and register complaints,” Mishra said. Regarding the police’s bid to check crime, he said that a police outpost was raised in Bihta in April, and requisition of additional police force for the area has been made to police headquarters.

In keeping with recent spurt in crime, most educational institutes are playing it safe, too. “Our campus has a secured fencing with entry gate properly manned and every entry and exit is monitored. Staff and students hardly need to go out for daily requirements as essential commodities including vegetables are available within the campus,” said Rajendra Pramanik, public relations officer of IIT, Patna.

Wave of murders

Local traders say that one of the first markers that a wave of crime had come to Bihta following the money came in September 2017, when 52-year-old Nirbhay Singh, the president of the Bihta Traders’ Association and the owner of the local landmark, Uday Chitra Mandir cinema hall, which opened in the 1970s, was murdered.

“He was killed because he opposed extortionists,” said Raju Kumar Gupta, another businessman from the area. Singh was shot dead by three assailants and the accused included Amit Kumar, the leader of the Mahakaal gang. Kumar has been in jail since he was arrested in 2018 in this case.

This year, on September 5, two people, Rahul Kumar (30) and Pradip Kumar (28) were gunned down, while a third, Amit Kumarwas injured over a land dispute in Kishunpur. The three were sleeping in a makeshift room on a recently purchased plot of land. Rahul’s father Ramesh Singh said his son had started fencing the land, which was then damaged by a rival group. After that, he decided to stay there at night, which proved fatal. The police have arrested three suspects, Ravinder Kumar, Sandhya Devi and Sunita Devi, but five others, including the suspected shooter identified only as Pujari, are on the run.

Close to a month before this, on August 11, unidentified assailants shot dead gold trader Mantu Kumar Gupta, 40, after ransacking his shop, Maa Vindhyavasini Jewellers, taking ₹1.5 lakh in cash. Traders in the market say that Mantu was murdered to scare the business community, as he had refused to pay extortion money. Mantu’s father Srisant Prasad Gupta said their family was traditionally into the jewellery business but his son had branched out on his own and set up one of the 40-odd jewellery shops in Bihta market. The police said that four people identified as Pankaj Kumar, Deepak Jha, Vishal Kumar and Arun Sharma have been arrested, and suspect they are part of a new gang, headed by 32 year old Deepak, a 32-year-old college dropout.

Patna police records show that Bihta police station had seen 750 cases of cognisable offences till September this year, as compared to 991 in 2020. “There is slight downswing in crime in the year 2020 and 21 owing to the Covid pandemic. In 2016, there were 979 cases of cognisable offences, which rose to 1,110 in 2017 and went up further to 1,450 in 2018,” said Bihar police officer.

Further, of the 79 murders reported in the Patna metropolitan city in 2020 according to the NCRB report, 14 were registered in Bihta. In 2019, this was 16 of 96, while in 2018 this was 10 of 91.

Political reaction

The members of the state’s ruling National Democratic Alliance government admitted last week that the law-and-order situation was a matter of concern, and was adversely affecting the administration’s expansion bid. Deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad, who is also in-charge of urban development said to HT, “Chief minister Nitish Kumar has always emphasised on checking crime. The investors need not worry, as the government will do everything to protect their interests. Nitish Kumar, who also holds the home portfolio holds regular meetings to review law and order and gives necessary directions to tone up the policing. The state police headquarter has also been told to create dedicated post of an SP for Bihta particularly in view of rapid development of the area.”

Bhatatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nikhil Anand, who contested the last assembly election from Maner (Bihta is part of the assembly constituency), said, “It’s a fast-growing urban centre outside of Patna where many educational, economic and government institutions have come up in recent times. There have been some criminal activities and a spate of incidents which has created a kind of fear among the local residents. The Bihar government is seriously concerned about the law and order, but we feel that there should be some special deployment of administrative and police officers on the pattern of NCR (National Capital Region), given the extensive growth the region is set to see especially after operation of the Bihta airport.”

The Opposition believes nothing is being done. “There is no rule of law worth its name in the state. Criminals are on the prowl and can strike anytime and anywhere,” said Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Maner MLA Bhai Birendra.

Bihta was meant to be the new to Patna’s old, its cosmopolitan answer to a cramped, crumbling capital yearning to expand. For now though, it is struggling to free itself from an old Bihar bogey. Failing law and order.