B N Singh Pappan
Saharsa : The residents of village Gowari under Basnahi police station in Saharsa district blocked Jhitkia Chowk on Atalkha – Maura main road for five hours in protest against firing on Vats Kumar Jha alias Chaman Jha by two criminals in a bid to loot his bike on June 8, 2017, night. Vats, a native of Gowari, had a miraculous escape and he managed to dodge the criminals.
Vats, who was going to Bargaon on his bike with his cousin as pillion rider, was allegedly asked to stop by the two criminals: Ashish Yadav and Rahul Yadav, near village Maria. When Vats did not stop his bike and instead sped away, the two criminals fired on him but he escaped unhurt. Vatsa informed Basnahi police station about the incident the same night but police did not visit the spot.
The villagers made SHO, Basnahi police station, Pawan Paswan, hostage on June 9 when he reached Jhitkia Chowk to pacify them. Later, Inspector, Simribakhtiarpur, Satya Narayan Rai, SHO, Sonbersa Raj police station, Mohd Izhar Alam, and Saharsa District Board member Arun Kumar Yadav, reached Jhitkia Chowk and pacified the villagers by telling them that the two criminals would be arrested within 24 hours. After this, the villagers lifted the blockade and also released SHO, Basnahi, Pawan Paswan.