When the rioters attacked Azizpur Village in Muzaffarpur district on Sunday in broad daylight and went on a looting and killing spree leaving at least five people from 70 years to five years old charred in the burning inferno, there was one old woman who showed exemplary courage and bravery by saving the lives of over ten Muslim women and children. But the 50 plus Shail Devi is now thoroughly shattered, scared and apprehensive for her life. Devi, a widow and mother of two daughters, is now taking shelter in the house of a septuagenarian Muslim.
Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi who visited the village on Wednesday felicitated Devi and handed her a cheque of Rs51,000, a shawl and citation. He also announced an assistance of Rs20,000 each to her two teenaged daughters Rita Kumari and Rupam Kumari for their studies. He also announced a home for Devi under Indira Awas Yojna. Calling her Jhansi ki Rani , the CM said her courage and bravery was exemplary and everybody should take a lesson from her. “You are Bhagwan of Kalyug. You saved lives of many innocent women and children. Your name will go down in history as a brave saviour and a shining symbol of communal harmony,” Manjhi said at a brief function in presence of some Ministers, top officials and villagers.
Shail Devi, whose husband Jaglal Sahni died earlier, lives in a small mud house in largely Muslim dominated Azizpur village. On Sunday around 12 noon when a large mob of armed people from adjoining villages attacked Azizpur and started killing, looting and torching houses, over a ten women and children had hidden in her home requesting to save their lives from the rioters. Devi and her daughters sheltered them. When the groups of rioters on rampage reached there, she told them that she was widow of Jaglal Sahni. The rioters went away but later on they came to know that she had sheltered over ten Muslims in her house.
After that they reportedly swore to take revenge. A frightened Devi and her daughters are now taking shelter in the house of another villager Aas Mohammad and living under the shadow of terror. She said she was apprehensive of threat to her family. The CM directed the officials to provide her security. He said that the region had no history of communal disturbance and people wanted to live together. “It is the handiwork of some outsiders who implemented their nefarious designs in bid to divide the society on communal lines,” Manjhi said and promised all help to the victims for restarting their lives.
While praising the work done by Muzaffarpur DM Anupam Kumar and senior police officials, the CM condemned the negligence on part of junior Government officials and said action would be taken against them. He met the victims and listened to their grievances. When Zubaida Khatoon said her son Jaish Mohammad’s school books were burned, Manjhi directed the officials to provide him books at once. He also visited Bahilwara village where the parents of Bhartendu Sahni, the youth whose body was recovered from a field in Azizpur and that incident sparked off riots, and consoled the bereaved family. He asked the villagers to live in peace and harmony and frustrate the moves of the anti-social elements.
RJD supremo lalu Prasad also visited the two villages and lashed at the attempts by some quarters to take political mileage of the sensitive situation. On the demand of the judicial inquiry, he reminded the fate of earlier inquiry commissions and said their reports were only trashed in the dustbin. But he said the officials found responsible for this situation should be taken to task. Meanwhile, the Government has transferred the sub-divisional police officer of Saraiya and also removed three junior cops whose role was widely suspected.