Anushka Pathak – Mumbai Uncensored, 21st February 2022
Ranchi: A 20-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly vandalising an idol of Lord Hanuman in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, where tension flared following the recent murder of a 17 year-old named Rupesh Pandey who was killed by a mob of Muslims for passing through a Muslim dominated area during Saraswati Pujan Visarjan.
Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe, while speaking to the reporters, said that the accused has confessed before police that he damaged the idol of Lord Hanuman at a temple on February 12. He added that the accused has been sent to judicial custody.
The incident had led to protests on GT Road on National Highway-2 in violation of prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of CrPC in Barhi Sub Division. The accused has been sent to judicial custody.
Meanwhile, tension has gripped the area after a 17-year-old boy named Rupesh Pandey was killed at Barhi on February 6 by a Muslim mob during the immersion procession of the idol of goddess Saraswati. The religious procession faced unexpected opposition from the mass of Muslims while passing from an area called Lakhna Dulmaha Imambada of the Nai Taand village in Hazaribagh. The mob engaged in the ruckus with the Hindu devotees. In this, Rupesh Pandey was badly beaten. Chothe said the post-mortem report of the deceased revealed that he was hit hard on the head and had injuries on his neck, stomach and spleen. He was declared dead when taken to the hospital.
A case was registered in the Barhi police station against 27 attackers. Besides, 100 other unknowns have been booked in this case. Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Anis, Mohammad Kaif, Mohammad Gufran, Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Osama, Mohammad Ehtam, and Mohammad Nahid have been named as the main accused in the case.
Following the incident, the BJP’s state unit on Thursday staged protests at several places against the killing of the teenager, demanding capital punishment for the culprits. BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash alleged that the Jharkhand government believes in the “politics of appeasement, even in cases of lynching”. “No one is safe in the state. There is no law and order,” he said.
After the mob lynching incident of Hazaribagh, the Hemant Soren-led government had stoked another controversy by taking action against Hindu groups protesting against the murder and demanding justice.
The Jharkhand Police had registered an FIR against the protesters who organised a candle march in Chatra condemning the murder. Thousands of people, including the members of Bharatiya Janata Party, BJYM, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had protested against the brutal killing of Rupesh Pandey.
Earlier this week, a five-member state government delegation had met the boy’s parents and promised financial assistance and job to a family member. It will also soon submit a report to the chief minister.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued notices to the Jharkhand government and the Hazaribagh district administration, seeking details of the incident leading to the death of the minor boy.
