A well-planned execution

By Our Special Correspondent

LAKHISARAI, MAY 13. The barbarity with which the armed goons of the sand mafia struck on the dry bed of the Kiul river on late Thursday night, killing 11 labourers, reveals that the carnage was certainly not an act of desperation, nor of vendetta, but was meticulously planned and executed. The incident was calculated to send a message to rival sand-miners to keep their hands off the Kiul river's sand.

The assailants - about 45, carrying firearms - were reportedly ``men'' of Mr. Hareram Yadav, a cousin of the local RJD MLA, Mr. Prahlad Yadav. Mr. Hare Ram Yadav figures as the main accused in the FIR lodged against six persons in connection with the killings.

The victims include six Dalits and five persons belonging to extremely backward castes. They were all engaged in scooping sand from the river bed and loading the same on trucks when they were killed. The massacre is said to be an offshoot of the rivalry between two warring sand mafias engaged in illegal lifting of sand from the river bed. Given his political connections, Mr. Hare Ram Yadav seems to have the upper hand.

Ironically, the State Mining Development Corporation is the official agency entrusted with the job of sand lifting. But nowhere in the State does the SMDC come into the picture, leaving the field clear for rival mafia gangs to sort it out among themselves. This, invariably, leads to bloody clashes which have claimed hundreds of lives so far.

An eyewitness, Mr. Ram Babu Singh, has accused the local RJD MLA and his cousin of masterminding the massacre. The very next day, four persons were reportedly killed in a pitched battle between two gangs in the crime-ridden riverine belt of Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district while another four were shot dead in Ara.

Such killings have been continuing in Bihar during the last one month. In the last week of April, five Dalits, including a BSP leader, were massacred at Sasaram. At least half a dozen politicians were done to death earlier.

On April 10, Mr. Vijay Singh Soy, a former Congress(I) MP, was gunned down at Chaibasa in the tribal belt of south Bihar and barely four days later, sitting Marxist Coordination MLA, Gurudas Chatterjee, was shot dead while he was on his way from Dhanbad to Nirsa in the coal belt.

On April 19, the Purnea district Samata Party president, Bootan Singh, was shot dead at point-blank range in the court premises while he was in police custody. This list is by no means exhaustive.

MLA's relative held

UNI reports:

A close relative of the Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA, Mr. Prahlad Yadav, and two others have been arrested in connection with the massacre of 11 labourers by a criminal gang near the Kuil river on Friday.

The police superintendent, Mr. M. S. Mazid, said here today that a case has been registered against 15 named accused and 30 others by the family members of a victim. He said more accused would be nabbed soon as information about their whereabouts has been received.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Kalra complains of chest pain, hospitalised
Next     : Jaffna may not fall easily