AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
By Manuwant Choudhary
In Bihar ransom is the main reason for abductions but not anymore you could be abducted simply because a Bihar MLCs vehicle collides against yours...
This morning as I drove into Patna on Bailey Road I noticed a crowd of onlookers at an accident site where a blue Maruti 800 had collided with a motorcycle. It seemed like a normal city skirmish that follows most accidents with one side hitting the other but what was unusual was when I noticed them forcing the two youth into the blue Maruti even as onlookers protested. And to scare away the public in a display of pure power one of the abducters took out a red light from inside the car and placed it on the roof and sped away as I noted its No. BR1A 8882.
Immediately, I called some media friends so that the abducters could be stopped. And when I got down from my car to inquire eyewitnesses said the blue Maruti had come out from Bungalow No. 4, the official residence of Monazir Hussain, Building Construction Minister, and it had a Vidhan Parishad sticker on it... "They got down and beat him up..he was bleeding from the nose and just as the crowd was gathering one of them took out a red light and placed it on top and forced them into the car...even as the public tried to complain..they ran away."
An armed security guard at the ministers gate did nothing to stop the abducters "My duty ends at the gate".
The minister Monazir Hussain when questioned on the abduction said "Prof Aslam Azad MLC did come to my house but I didn't meet him but they have not abducted the youth, only taken them to the Patna Medical College Hospital for treatment."
When the MLC was contacted on the cellphone one of his aides informed, "We have left the youth at Gandhi Maidan. Not the hospital, we only took them to the the garage to make them pay for the damages to our vehicle."
Damage control was in full force and one policeman could be heard saying, "Pehle bawaal Karte hain aur phir hamin ko kehte hain ki kya kijiye. " (First you create this huge controversy and then tell me what to do."
Police took the bike to the Kotwali police station and later the two youth were found and they were simply too scared to take this matter any further. "They took Rs.2,800 from us and let us go," said Rahul, faltering when asked which garage the car is in?
Witnesses shouted slogans outside the ministers house, Sushashan Murdabad, (Down with Good Governance." Even as the MLC Prof Aslam Azad attends the Karpoori Thakur birth anniversary!
