6 held for pelting stones at BJP lawmaker’s car in Ranchi

Source: hindustantimes.com

Police in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi have arrested six men for allegedly attacking the BJP’s Rajya Sabha lawmaker Samir Oraon’s vehicle with stones on the outskirts of the city on Monday, officials said on Tuesday.

The arrests on Tuesday morning came after Oraon lodged the first information at the Itki police station after the incident near Gadgaon area.

“Six persons – Gulam Sarvar, Arman Mansoori, Sohrab Mansoori, Aryan Mansoori, Irfan Mansoori and Umesh Lakra – have been arrested in this connection,” said Itki police station in-charge Prithvi Sender.

“All the accused used to smoke marijuana at their fixed base on the road flank. They have confessed that one of their friends pelted stone on the vehicle but he is absconding,” Sender said.

He added, “We are investigating the case further to ascertain if it was a coincidence or a planned activity.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader was coming back from Lohardaga district after attending the Budhu Bhagat Football Tournament when he was attacked. On his way back at around 8.30pm, some men started pelting stones on his Scorpio SUV. The parliamentarian and other passengers escaped unhurt.

“It appeared that bullets were being fired from all sides. We speeded up the vehicle to escape and finally took a halt at a petrol station. We then informed the police,” Oraon said.

He added, “We were six people sitting in the vehicle, including Binod Kumar Bhagat, the leader of Jharkhand movement, and my brother Alok Oraon. But we all escaped unhurt.”

The member of Parliament said they were escorted by a police team to Ranchi. He also said he doesn’t know why he was targeted and who the attackers were.

“It can’t be deduced for sure that I was the target. It may be a coincidence but it’s a serious issue and ought to be investigated thoroughly, “ he said.