Uproar in Bihar Assembly over Muzaffarpur firing

By Our Staff Correspondent

PATNA, SEPT. 26. Police firing today in Muzaffarpur, coming close on the heels of the kidnapping of two doctors on Tuesday, had its echo in the Bihar Assembly, which was adjourned four times with the Opposition demanding that the Muzaffarpur Superintendent of Police, be suspended.

Curfew was clamped in the town, when even police firing failed to have any impact on the people who went on the rampage angered by the insensitivity of the police and the recovery of a badly mutilated body of a five-year-old boy, kidnapped a week ago. The police fired more than 25 rounds killing at least four persons.

The situation deteriorated on Tuesday night following the recovery of a mutilated body at Madhopur village under the Hathauri police station. The limbs had been chopped off, the eyes gouged, and the face damaged beyond recognition. The father, Ratan Singh, an employee of the Punjab National Bank, identified the boy as that of his only son, Gautam Kumar alias Golu, by his clothes and features.

The five-year-old boy had been kidnapped a week ago and had remained traceless ever since. The kidnapping had created a furore in Muzaffarpur town with employees of all banks striking work for the past four days. Even school children had staged protest demonstrations besides other forms of agitations affecting normal life.

The prevailing public resentment was fuelled by the police action to conceal the identity of the boy by maintaining that the body is that of a 25-year-old youth, apparently intending not to hand over the body to the already traumatised family. The father and the mother fainted on seeing the torture inflicted on their only son who was born after 12 years of their marriage after a prolonged medical treatment.

Last night itself, the office-in-charge of the town police station was chased away from the house of the bereaved family. People also resorted to arson setting ablaze government and police vehicles.

Things were no different today with official vehicles being targeted. Even fire tenders were torched. The police too were attacked. Curfew was eventually clamped on the two police station areas of the township and Meethanpur. The district officials are reported to have sought the help of the army to contain the situation.

The Water Resources Development Minister, Mr. Jaganand Singh, admitted that two bodies had been recovered but it was yet to be verified whether the casualties were because of the police firing. He also informed the Assembly that additional forces were being rushed to Muzaffarpur to restore normality.

The Minister made the statement after two adjournments. But the Opposition, led by its leader, Mr. S. K. Modi, was firm on its demand for suspension of the Muzaffarpur Superintendent of Police. Condemning the murder of the boy, the RJD chief, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav, assured the House that stern action would be taken against the police officers at all levels.

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