The Jharkhand High Court Friday directed the Jharkhand government to submit a report about violence in Ranchi on June 10, in which two persons died and many were injured when the protest turned violent.
The order was passed by the bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad. The next hearing will be held next Friday.
The petitioner Pankaj Yadav filed the PIL to seek investigation of this case by the National Investigation Agency. The court refused to interfere on whether it was justified to display pictures of riot suspects in public places by the police which was later withdrawn.
The court has sought an explanation on how all of a sudden 10,000 people turned up on the road and violence got triggered. The court directed a detailed report about the number of casualties and injuries besides the round of bullets fired by the police.
The court demanded intelligence reports, claims about the attack on temples, and measures to control law and order. The court wanted to know whether or not other arrangements like tear gas and water cannon were made to tackle the situation.
The Jharkhand High Court took up an early hearing of this matter as the petitioner requested the court to hand over the investigation of the recent sectarian violence in Ranchi to the National Investigation Agency.
Sectarian violence took place on June 10 when a strong mob pelted stones on the police and religious places. In the police action, two died whereas seven others were injured. Some policemen were also injured in the clash.
Petitioner claimed that the riot was planned by the People’s Front of India and SDPI. Some people from Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh secretly visited Ranchi to organize the violence in the name of the protest against the remarks of BJP leader Nupur Sharma. He also demanded the court to investigate the role of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen headed by Asaduddin Owaisi.
The Jharkhand government, Chief Secretary, Ranchi DC, Ranchi SSP, NIA, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax, have been named among the respondents. Petitioner claimed that Jharkhand Police is in no position to investigate the case as the riot is a deep-rooted conspiracy.
The petitioner also filed a supplementary affidavit in support of his claim. He said that the State government is not willing for a proper probe and the actions of the state government are very frustrating. He said that the Jharkhand Home Secretary has issued a show-cause notice to Ranchi SSP SK Jha for displaying pictures of the riot suspect. He informed the court that the Ranchi police were following instructions of the Jharkhand Governor to display the pictures of the suspects.
He also pointed out that one of the arrested suspects, Nawab Chisti, is closely connected with the minister, MLA, and politicians of the ruling parties of Jharkhand. Hence in such a situation, Jharkhand Police can’t investigate the case properly.