Five arrested, Governor summons DGP, top cops
VIOLENCE ERUPTED ON FRIDAY OVER ALLEGED OFFENSIVE REMARKS AGAINST PROPHET BY TWO BJP LEADERS
RANCHI: Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais on Monday summoned top officials, including state’s director general of police Neeraj Sinha, and sought information on action taken regarding violent protests in the state capital on Friday, even as five people were arrested, police and officials said.
“Five persons — including Md. Arif, Bilal Ansari, Md. Ashfaq, Md. Anis and Danish Khan — have been arrested while appropriate legal action is being taken against six protesters who were injured and are under treatment at a hospital. Besides, notices have been served to 107 people,” a statement from Ranchi police said.
In all, 25 FIRs (first information report) have been registered by the Ranchi police in connection with the violence that erupted during protests on Friday against alleged offensive remarks against Prophet Muhammad by two BJP spokespersons, who have since been suspended. Some of the charges pressed in the FIRs include opening fire at police, trying to snatch arms from policemen, stone pelting, targeting Hanuman temple and raising provocative slogans, an official said.
SIT sources said they looking for admin of a WhatsApp group, “Wassepur Gang”, which might have played an active role in mobilising crowd for the Friday protests. “It’s an old WhatsApp group which we have been tracking for a while. The investigators are looking into their role,” a senior official said.
Meanwhile, Governor Ramesh Bais on Monday summoned DGP Neeraj Sinha, Additional DGP (operations) SA Latkar, Ranchi senior superintendent of police (SSP) Surendra Jha and deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan and has directed them to provide a detailed response over specific issues raised by the Raj Bhawan.
“The Governor asked the officials if they had any prior intelligence about the incident and how much prepared they were they for the protests. There was no arrangement for facilities like water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets. The DGP said they had intelligence about around 150 people likely to create chaos,” a Raj Bhawan official said.
“The Governor also directed officials to provide details regarding some high-profile murders in Ranchi and Jamshedpur recently, which are yet to be solved by the police,” the official said.
Meanwhile, chief minister Hemant Soren said Ranchi was not a battlefield and there was a need to observe caution while dealing with grievances.
“We are going through a difficult phase. We of often make mistakes in decisions taken with anger. This city (Ranchi) is not a battlefield. We need to be cautious while taking every single step. These days, we get information from various quarters and most of them have hidden agendas. So we need to be cautious and protect our constitution and democracy,” Soren told reporters.