Opposition Congress members staged walkout and raised slogans on Tuesday in State Assembly after being denied permission by the Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal on their plea for cancellation of the Question Hour for taking up an adjournment motion over an alleged human sacrifice case in Bemetara district.
As soon as the Question Hour began, Congress member Bhupesh Baghel brought up the issue of an alleged attempt to conduct sacrifice of an 8-year-old boy by the contractor of a construction company at a construction site for an Anicut on the Dodu river coming under Khamria police station in Bemetara district. The Opposition members after bringing an adjournment proposal demanded an immediate discussion on the issue.
legislative Affairs Minister Ajay Chandrakar urged Opposition members to let the Question Hour be completed then a discussion on the issue could be taken up in the House. But Congress member Satyanarayan Sharma stated that the meaning of bringing an adjournment proposal itself meant that the House business should be stopped to take up the discussion.
Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal told the Opposition members that he was willing to allow a discussion over the issue after the completion of the Question Hour. leader of Opposition TS Singh Deo said that that such an issue had erupted for the first time in Chhattisgarh and when the parents of the boy went to lodge an FIR but the case was not registered by the police. There could be no bigger issue than the case of an attempted human sacrifice and the matter should be discussed immediately, he demanded.
Congress member Satyanarayan Sharma demanded that the matter be probed into by an Inspector General (IG) level officer. Home Minister Ramsevak Paikra agreed to the member’s demand and announced that the matter would be probed by an IG level officer. Ajay Chandrakar stated that the Chhattisgarh Assembly had always followed its traditions and the proposal could be taken up for the discussion after the completion of the Question Hour.
However, Congress members, while insisting that the matter was serious and warranted an immediate discussion, did not agree to continuation of the Question Hour and started raising slogans. PWD Minister Rajesh Munat stated that it had been the tradition after the formation of the State that a discussion on the adjournment proposal was not taken up during the Question Hour. ‘We also condemn the incident’, he said. However, on the Opposition members continuing to raise slogans, the Speaker adjourned the House for half-an-hour at 12 pm.
When the House reassembled, the Speaker received notice on the adjournment proposal from Congress member Bhupesh Baghel along with 25 Opposition members on the attempted human sacrifice issue which was read out by the former in the House. The proposal read that an eight-year-old boy named Ankush Nirmalkar was kidnapped and put into a gunny bag before being put into the foundation of the Anicut under construction. The victim who made desperate attempts to free himself inside, loosened the bag’s cord and his cries were heard by the locals who took him out of the bag.
In his reply, Home Minister Ramsevak Paikra stated that a case was registered in the Khamria police station at 11 am. “The medical examination of the boy was conducted and while taking the matter seriously, the matter is being investigated by SDOP,” Bemetara.
Three suspects had been detained for questioning, said the Minister, adding that investigation was underway and after recording statements of the witnesses, action would be initiated. He said that another case had been registered for burning of mixer machine and JCB besides other construction equipment. The Minister said that some villagers raised slogans and pelted stones on the Police station and a case had been registered against them.
The Congress members Bhupesh Baghel, Satyanarayan Sharma and Amit Jogi demanded a discussion on the adjournment proposal to which BJP member Shivratan Sharma stated that there should not be any politics on the issue.
After hearing the proposal of the Opposition members, Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal did not allow a discussion which led the Congress members to stage a walkout once again. The Congress members after walking out of the House reached the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Chhattisgarh Assembly premises and staged a dharna while raising slogans.