PATNA: More than 24 persons were reportedly killed and 50 injured in the past 48 hours in Bihar.
According to the Home Department more reports of violence were trickling in from outlying districts.
In Samastipur districts Sewra village three people died in police firing on two consecutive days-on the night of March 18 and the next morning.
However Home Commissioner Jiya Lal Arya confirmed only two deaths. According to senior officers in the Home Department & land dispute between a Dalit and a Muslim family go out of hand when the local Sub-Inspector A K Khan reportedly took a partisan stand.
The highest toll was reported from Raghunathpur railway station which falls between Buxar and Arrah on the Eastern Railway. Arya claimed that the Bihar Police shot dead 10 dacoits when they tried to escape after looting passengers of the (Down) Punjab Mail on the night of March 18. The dacoits had boarded at Dumraon station.
However sleuth investigating the incident told this correspondent that an Army jawan reportedly opened is with the stengun during the dacoity killing nine criminals on the spot. One succumbed to his injuries later.
But a report from the State Railway Police (SRP) mentions that the dacoits were lynched by the passengers with the help of Army Jawan’s when they tied to flee under the cover of darkness.
“Meanwhile the Home Commissioner confirmed the death of two persons in a clash between the inhabitants of Akbarpur and Sri Rampur villages in Bhagalpur district. The Officer-in-Charge of Akbarpur police station has been suspended for failing to stave off the clash.
Raj Kishore Chaudhary of Sri Rampur village was killed by the minority community residents of Akbarpur village. The main culprit was later lynched by the villagers of Sri Rampur while the police reportedly remained passive watchers.
Reports of two killings in separate incidents have come from Gaya district in south-central Bihar on Holi eve. Violent clashes led to the deaths at Manjhar and Chaurahi villages. While police stated that the communal clash to celebrate “Holia Dahan district sources maintained that an old land feud was the actual cause.
While several incidents of communal clashes were reported from north and central Bihar districts one person was killed at Wara village of Aurangabad district under Nabinagar police station in central Bihar. A major clash was however averted when saner counsel prevailed upon the minority and majority communities of Ramchandoyar and Rarmnagar villages. Ten persons were later arrested bringing the number of those arrested in the state to more than 150.
Four persons were seriously injured one of whom reportedly died when a powerful transistor bomb exploded in the house of Mohammad Sawoj in Sheikhpur Village of Samastipur district in north Bihar. Police reports available here stated that the explosion occurred on the night of March 18. Senior police officers are investigating how the transistor bomb came into the possession of Mohammed Sawoj.
Meanwhile the police firing at Samastipur district’s Sewra village has heightened tension in the night by the attitude of S.I. Khan the majority community villagers threw brickbats at his posse.
The police officer opened fire killing a Harijan woman on the spot. The enraged crowd then snatched a self-loaded rifle (SLR) from a home guard as well as the service revolver of the Sub-Inspector on Holi eve.
The next day March 19 strong police posse led by a DSP Circle Officer (Inspector Rank) S.I.Khan and a batch of District Armed Police (DAP) and Bihar Military Police (BMP) tried to force their way into the village to retrieve their fire arms as well as take away the body of the woman killed.
Another skirmish in which there was an exchange offered to the police party beating retreat to the neighboring village. While retreating the police reportedly fired indiscriminately seriously injuring two persons one of them minor. Both later succumbed t0 their bullet injuries stated local witnesses.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 3, 1992
