Crime wave has gripped the city in recent months with figures showing a substantial increase in the number of attacks, thefts and loot taking place across the city. While the deteriorating law and order situation in the city remains major concern, the city has witnessed steep rise in suicides too. In the latest incident, a 31-year-old man was stabbed by a gang of assailants at Bhuiyandih under Sitaramdera police station late Thursday night. The victim, Sikander Das, was rushed to the MGM Medical College and Hospital emergency, but he succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Tata Main Hospital.
Sources informed that rivalry between the murder victim and one Sonu Gope (28) over a plot of land at Chhayanagar in Bhuiyandih is the suspected to be the reason behind the murder. Police claimed that Sonu Gope who is also a resident of Chhayanagar might be behind the murder. After the death, the police have been trying to nab Sonu by raiding his house, but the latter has absconded.
A father of three children, Sikander would earn a living by driving vehicle. He would stay at a rented house in Chhayanagar since the past four years, but he was keen to construct a house in unauthorised way on a plot of land which belonged to Tata Steel. Revealing about the incident, officer-in-charge, Sitaramdera police station, Sunil Chowdhury said that it last night Sonu Gope visited Sikander's house and took him along from the house after a brief talk. Some of the gang members were waiting for him and they attacked him.
According to Chowdhury, all the assailants had stabbed him at a time and when the victim fell down, they fled the scene. A youth who was around the spot had seen the gang of assailants attacking Sikander. The victim was declared as brought dead at the Tata Main Hospital emergency. In this connection, the police have registered a case of murder and conspiracy against Sonu and five others on the basis of the victim's widow, Pinki Das.
Some local residents said that the murder might have committed due to land dispute between Sonu and Sikander. "Sikander would stay at a rented house and wanted to build a house of his own, but Sonu would oppose the move. This might be the reason," said one of the local residents praying not to be quoted. The police have recovered one of the knives used in murder from Dhobi Nallah and the recovery of the knife was made after a frantic interrogation of the people in the densely-populated Chhayanagar.
“The city had been free from crimes, but now the Rsknife culture' has taken roots. The police should act with utmost vigil and nab the accused. The increase in crimes is a matter of concern. Thefts were a common but recent rise of cases of murders is serious,” said a district official. Meanwhile East Singhbhum senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amol V. Homkar recently held a crime meeting at his office and asked his team to strengthen their intelligence network to rein in the city’s soaring crime graph.