Half-burnt bodies of two women found in separate incidents in Bihar.

Source – thehindu.com

The half-burnt bodies of two women were found at two different places over the last two days in Bihar, following which Opposition parties slammed the Nitish Kumar government over the “failed” law and order situation in the State.

On Wednesday, the half-burnt body of a woman was found at Dardari Chaur under the Warisnagar Police Stationin Samastipur district. “The woman could not be identified as the body was burnt till her knees. It appears that she was killed somewhere else and her body was dumped at this isolated spot after being set on fire,” Prasunjay Kumar, a police official said. He added, “The body has been sent to the hospital in Samastipur for post-mortem, which will ascertain whether she was subjected to sexual assault or not.”

In a similar incident on Tuesday, the half-burnt body of a woman who had been shot dead was found on a farmland in the outskirts of the Kukudha village in Buxar district. The incident triggered protests by villagers demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits.

Half of her upper body, including her face, had been burnt beyond recognition. “A spent cartridge was found at the place where her burnt body was found…She might have been set on fire to destroy the evidence,” said Buxar Superintendent of Police Upendra Nath Verma. Evidence of sexual assault has not been ascertained yet, said the police.

Opposition parties have slammed the government over the failed law and order situation in the State. “Bihar has truly become a lawless State” tweeted Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav.

Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra said, “The law and order in Bihar has completely failed.I fail to understand where Nitish Kumar’s sushashan (good governance) has gone.”

Dented perception

The State Women’s Commission Chairperson Dilmani Mishra said, “The sensitivity of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar towards the female population, apparently, has been dented by the callous administration…There have been occasions when the local administration has not even bothered to reply to a notice issued by us about a crime against a woman.”

But the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s leaders countered the Opposition’s attack. “Those involved in such a heinous crime will not be spared at any cost by this government…The police have been doing their work and, in Nitish Kumar’s government, no one can be spared after committing a crime,” said Janata Dal( United) leader and spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan.

2 Killed in Celebratory Firings During Wedding Within 1 Week in Bihar.

Source – newsclick.in

Patna: Celebratory firing continues to claim lives of people in Bihar. Vijay Kumar and Manoj Shah alias Bittu were killed during celebratory firing at wedding ceremonies in the state in separate incidents within a week. These latest killings took place despite the fact that celebratory firing was banned by Bihar government following a guideline from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Ignoring the government’s directives and warning of action against celebratory firings at social functions including marriages, influential members of society, particularly in rural areas, continue to indulge in this. The police and administration’s failure to take action against the perpetrators is further adding to the impunity of these violators.

In the latest cases, both the victims were photographer. Vijay was killed in a celebratory firing at a wedding ceremony in Samastipur district on late Thursday night (November 28). He was recording the dancing members of the groom’s marriage party near the bride’s house when a few members, who were intoxicated started the celebratory firing. “One or two bullets hit his chest, killing him on the spot,” according to an witness.Vijay was a resident of Begusarai district and was hired by the groom’s family to record the marriage party.

Another photographer cum videographer Manoj was killed last Friday night at a wedding ceremony in Chandi Dhanush village in Vaishali district. He was hit by a bullet when he was recording the exchange of garlands and died on the spot, as per the people present there.

What has left Manoj’s family members fuming is that the marriage party took his body in a vehicle and dumped it a few kilometres away from the venue to suppress the evidence of the incident. But the police has lodged a case against the family members of the groom and bride.

Not only these, several other cases of serious injuries after being hit by bullets during celebratory firing have been reported from a number of districts including Khagaria, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur and Begusarai in the last ten days.

A senior police officer at the police headquarters in Patna told NewsClick, “Since January this year, during the traditional marriage season—locally knowns as lagan—more than two dozen people have been killed in celebratory firing and several others injured.”

He added, “Among the people killed, there was a music band member, two girl dancers as well as close relatives of the grooms and brides.”

In July 2019, a groom was killed in Patna district when a bullet hit him during celebratory firing during the wedding ceremony.

Celebratory firing is used as a way of displaying money and muscle power during wedding ceremonies, which is common particularly in the rural areas in Bihar. The practice of celebratory firing is most popular among the powerful and dominant upper castes like Rajput, Bhumihar and OBCs like Yadav, Kurmi and Kushwaha, during the traditional marriage season.

Talking about the increasing incidents of celebratory firing, social activist Mahendar Yadav, associated with the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) said, “In Bihar, it is not unusual if someone is carrying firearms. People are used to celebratory firing during wedding ceremonies, victory processions of political parties and even during religious functions.”

He said there is a provision to cancel arms licence of the accused but it has remained only on paper. Besides this, most of the arms used during celebratory firings are allegedly illegal. “It is for the local police to check such practices but police have failed totally,” he added.

A senior police official admitted that the central government has recently sent a letter to all state governments directing them to take strict action against those who are found guilty of engaging in celebratory firing.