MOB JUSTICE

10 ALLEGED THIEVES KILLED IN BIHAR

By Manuwant Choudhary

Patna: Villagers kill 10 alleged thieves in Dhelphodwa village in Vaishali in Bihar and only one of the thieves are rescued by the police.
This is just one amongst a series of such incidents that have taken place in recent months and ironically the name of the village `Dhelphodwa' denotes violence ..in Bihari it could mean `throwing stones'.
So nothing has changed in modern Bihar from the days when it was accepted that any offender could be stoned to death.
Just a few days back two youth suffered the wrath of the public when they were attempting to steal a motorcycle and when caught the public blinded the youth.
And a few weeks ago the TV footage of a policeman dragging a thief tied to a motorcycle made headline news after he was severely beaten up by the mobs.
In Dhelpodhwa village people take law into their own hands after several dacoities in the past few months and police inaction. So last night the villagers laid a trap and when the thieves entered the village under cover of darkness, the villagers arrest them and beat them to death.
There is no remorse about this from at least the villagers who say this is their only way to protect themselves as the police are often hand-in-glove with the criminals and justice has no chance.
At the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Darbar (where ordinary people come and complain directly to the CM), this Monday there were 1600 complaints against the police.
One couple complained that their son had been kidnapped 5 months ago and the police give no information. When the Chief Minister asks the Bihar Director General of Police Mr. Aashish Ranjan Sinha to inquire, the top cop calls the police station and without much conversation coldly informs the victim's mother..."Wo to maara gaya....He has been killed.."
But no further information is given whether the boys body has been recovered or at least some clothes or who the criminals are behind the kidnappings.
And the kidnapped boy Aakash's parents are simply directed to the CMs private chambers instead of the Janata Durbar where the CM has nothing new to say except, "My sympathies are with you."
The Janata Durbar itself now has hundreds to victims crying for help and senior policemen just shouting them down, all in front of TV cameras.
One news channel said, "Now its no longer a Janata Durbar, Just Durbar."
Indiavikalp, a year ago, wrote to the Bihar chief minister to install CCTVs on all major roads in Patna. But there was no reply and no action either.
The Bihar police have an English speaking spokesman who just gives soundbites to keep the media in good humour, while another top cop runs a coaching institute Super 30 to secure Bihari's a place in the IITs, but every minute he teaches physics there is someone in Bihar under the custody of kidnappers.
And the latest is that he is only doing this to win the Magsasay Award.