Chief Minister Raghubar Das, taking strong note of the lynching incidents in Ramgarh and Giridih, has directed the police to take stringent action against the culprits.
Das, while speaking during a review meeting on Friday held in Deoghar on law and order situation in the State, also added that the police must make sincere efforts to nab the persons involved in the incident so that they could be brought to justice through fast track courts as soon as possible.
"It must be assured that such incidents do not get repeated in future…no one has the right to take law in his hand as law is supreme in this State. Whoever may be the culprit, must not be spared," said the CM.
A mob of more than 100 people at Bazartand in Ramgarh lynched a 45-year-old trader Alimuddin alias Asgar Ali on suspicion of carrying beef in his car on Thursday afternoon. Remarkably, the incident took place on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the nation that attacks on cattle traders, beef-eaters and dairy farmers, in the name of protecting cows was unacceptable.
Das also gave strict instructions to suspend Officer in-Charge of the concerned police station where cattle are found to be smuggled while related DSP and other senior officers will also be under scanner.
"This is the time to take stringent action against the culprits," he said. Cattle smuggling will remain banned completely in the State, he added.
Meanwhile, DGP DK Pandey informed during the meeting that one of the accused had been arrested while hunt for others was still on.
"Thirteen of the accused persons have also been arrested in the Giridih incident which took place on Tuesday," said the DGP. Four special teams have also been formed to nab the culprits, he added.
Ramgarh SP Kishore Kaushal also asserted that Section 144 has been imposed and situation was under control.
"An FIR has been lodged against 13 persons on the basis of video footage from various sources while efforts were also being made to arrest them", said the SP. The whole of the district has been divided into 14 sectors and a magistrate has been deployed in each of the sectors along with forces, he added.
Kaushal further added that that a mob of around 30 persons intercepted Ali, hailing from Monua village, thrashed him badly after pulling him out of the van bearing West Bengal number plate at Bazartand under Ramgarh police station.
Ali was allegedly carrying four sacks of meat weighing around 200 kg. After being thrashed by the crowd, Police took him to Sadar hospital in Ramgarh from where he was referred to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi. Ali died minutes after being admitted to RIMS.
ADG (Operations) and Jharkhand Police Spokesperson RK Mallick, however, said that Ramgarh incident could be the result of a professional or personal rivalry which is being tried to be found out.
"Ali has some criminal antecedents, who had been an accused in the kidnapping and murder of a child and had also gone to jail in this regard. He traded in beef and said to have been getting calls for ransom from his business rivals and local criminals," said Mallick. Still, that does not give anybody the right to kill someone, he added.
Ali's wife Mariyam Khatoon, on the other hand, demanded a government job for her son as Ali was the only earning member of the family. The couple had three sons and three daughters, eldest being around 16 years of age.