Laloo blames it on BJP-RSS-Ranvir Sena nexus

By K. Balchand

PATNA, JUNE 18. The Bihar Government today announced fresh administrative measures to cope with the growing incidents of massacre in the State, while the RJD blamed the BJP-RSS-Ranvir Sena nexus to destabilise the Rabri Devi Government. At a high- level meeting with senior officers, the Chief Minister, Mrs. Rabri Devi, decided to set up a special court for the speedy trial of those responsible for Friday's massacre, in which 34 people were killed in Mianpur village in Aurangabad district.

The Government also placed under suspension the Daroga and all the constables of the Saharsa police picket which had been set up after the Senari massacre in March 1999 when 34 Bhumihars were killed by the MCC.

The picket had not reacted to the complaint of the Mianpur tola residents about the visit of residents of Senari and had also not tried to protect them when the attack was launched despite its presence in the ill-fated village.

Apart from posting six police officers in the rank of ADG (vested with the powers of the DGP) on the field, the Government constituted 20 task forces to bring to book all those wanted by the law - be it naxalites or Ranvir Sena members or individual criminals.

Governor briefed

On his part, the Governor, Mr. V.C. Pandey, summoned the Chief Secretary, Mr. V.S. Dubey, and the Home Secretary, Mr. U.N. Panjiar, and held discussions. The Centre had sought a report from the Governor over the law and order situation following the massacre. Mr. Dubey told The Hindu that the Governor was briefed with the details he had sought. At a press conference, the RJD president, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav, lashed out at the BJP, RSS and the Ranvir Sena. Clarifying that the task forces had been instructed to arrest the Ranvir Sena chief, Brameshwar Singh, at the earliest, he said each task force had been assigned a specific job to be executed within a timeframe. The task forces would be held responsible for any recurrence of massacres or crime of any serious nature.

The RJD chief charged that the BJP and its constituents - Samata Party and the JD(U) - were once again resorting to violence to get rid of a democratically-elected Government. Article 356 was misused after the Ranvir Sena carried out massacres in Shankerbigha and Narainpur, and now the same conspiracy is being hatched again.

Reacting to the statement of the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, ruling out President's rule for lack of necessary support in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Yadav retorted that the motive of the State BJP was to put pressure on the Congress(I) to withdraw support to the Rabri Government so as to grab power.

Mr. Yadav also blamed that the Centre had not acceded to its demand for the deployment of 85 companies of para-military forces - only 20 companies had been provided. He wondered how plane- loads of para-military forces could be made available once President's rule was imposed as on the last occasion.

Left's bandh call

PTI reports:

The Left parties, including CPI, CPI(ML) (Liberation) and Forward Bloc called for a 12-hour Bihar bandh on June 21 in protest against the recurrence of massacres in the State.

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