Eerir silence prevails at Bihia even 4 days after arson, stripping of woman

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : An eerie silence prevails in and around Bihia under the same police station in Bhojpur district even after four days of arson and stripping of a woman following the murder of a youth Bimlesh Sah and police force are still camping in the area and conducting raids to arrest the culprits. The body of Bimlesh was found on the railway track at Bihia railway station on August 20, 2018, evening. Though police have arrested 17 persons and sent them to jail but are yet to crack the case. The stripping victim was sent to the Remand Home on August 22, 2018, evening.

Meanwhile, the incident has taken a political hue and opposition parties have unleashed a tirade against the NDA  government alleging that there is ‘maha jungle raj’ in Bihar. Leaders of different political parties visited Bihia on August 22 and August 23. 

Bihia is a commercial hub and buzz with activities till late night but after the August 20 incident, traders close their shops by 8 pm and the entire area wears a deserted look after that as people are afraid that they might be arrested if their face is seen in the CCTV footage. Residents of Dafali locality also known as red light area have shifted to safer places out of fear after arson and stripping of a woman of the area.Villagers say had police swung into action on time, the stripping and arson could have been averted.

Pramod Kumar Rai, representative, Bihar State Congress Committee, Supriya Kumari Kushwaha, Coordinator, Bhojpur district Congress Committee (Woman Cell), Sri Ram Singh, Dr. Sachchidanand Singh of Samajwadi Party, Jyotish Kumar of CPI, an inquiry team of the CPI (ML)led by the Tarari MLA udama Prasad after visiting the incident site, severely condemned the disrobing and parading of woman on street in full public view and added that it was slur on society. They held the police administration responsible for incident saying Bihia police station and the GRP were just some metres away from the incident site. They demanded high level inquiry into the matter and compensation to the stripping victim and the deceased family.

At the time of disrobing and parading of the woman, the mob led by Kushsal Kishor Yadav had raised slogans against CM Nitish Kumar but after his arrest Kushal Kumar Yadav said that he was not in the RJD but Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) worker. But a photograph of him agitating along with the RJD workers, which has gone viral, confirms his allegiance to the RJD. Prince Bajrangi, national secretary, Janata Dal (United), youth wing, said the incident had exposed the RJD. Both, the RJD and the JAP disowned Kaushal Kishor Yadav saying he was not worker of their parties.

The CPI (ML) and the All India Progressive Woman Association (AIPA) led by Tarari MLA Sudama Prasad took out protest march from their office near eastern railway crossing on August 23 that passed through the main thoroughfares of the town and culminated at Ara railway station. Rahul Tiwari, RJD MLA from Shahpur, has demanded an inquiry into the incident and stern action against the miscreants.

Sanju Devi, mother of the deceased Bimlesh Sah, said that her son had demanded the bank account number from her before his death. She said that the residents of red light area trap youth and loot their belongings including cash.