Patna HC lawyer shot, protest chokes traffic
PATNA: Motorcycle-borne gunmen Wednesday morning killed a practising lawyer of the Patna high court, Jitendra Kumar, near his residence in Rajvanshinagar under Shastrinagar police station area. Police said prima facie, the murder seems to be fallout of property dispute. The lawyer’s murder has occurred a day after the death of a police constable in a shootout with gangsters in the heart of the city on Monday.
Deputy inspector general (DIG) Rajesh Kumar said four of the nine named accused, including the lawyer’s estranged wife, had been arrested. The slain lawyer’s wife had been staying with her parents since 2007, the DIG said.
The incident sparked angry protest by lawyers, sat on dharna near the Ambedkar square on Bailey Road, throwing the city traffic out of gear.
RANCHI:Pakur administration has decided to prohibit the controversial kissing contest in JMM legislator Simon Marandi’s village in Dumaria, around 321 km from state capital, during the annual Sidhu-Kanhu fair beginning December 15.
Marandi faced a political storm by allegedly organising the kissing contest at his native village during the two-day SidhuKanhu fair, also known as Dumaria mela, on December 9 last year.
Pakur sub-divisional officer (SDO) Jitendra Kumar Deo said, “We did not receive any official information regarding the fair so far. Once we get the official information of the fair, we will assess the type of events to be organised there.”
Deo said, “If kissing contest is added to the event list, we will not allow the organising committee to hold it. If it was organised by force, legal action could be taken considering it a case of indecent behavior in public place.”
The event organised last year had forced JMM patriarch Sibu Soren to seek clarification from Marandi and the state government too had set up a probe committee. However, neither the JMM nor the government took any action against him till date.
The JMM legislator, who is reportedly patron of the fair, raked up the controversy yet again by saying if village committee decides to hold kissing contest, he would not stop it and would not hesitate to be present at the event as chief guest.
Hordes of competitions are organised during the two-day fair. However, kissing contest between the married couple was added to the competitions’ list last year.
“Several competitions are organised during the fair. All the events are decided by the local village committee and I have no role in it. If village committee decides to hold kissing contest, who am I to stop it,” Marandi said, adding, he would not hesitate to be present on the occasion, as it is his constituency.
Marandi had won the Littipara assembly seat by defeating BJP’s Hemlal Murmu with 12,900 votes in April 2017 by-election.
He said, “I don’t understand why there is so much hullabaloos on the event. I do not find anything wrong in it. Idea of kissing contest is to arouse love and romance between wife and husband. In Santhal, cases of divorces and differences between tribal couples are higher. The contest is aimed at making married couple aware of social structure of tribal and responsibility towards family.”
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened front against the JMM legislator for supporting event like kissing contest.
“JMM legislator Simon Marandi should remember that we are not in London or Rome. We live in culturally rich Jharkhand, where western culture cannot be implemented,” BJP state spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, adding, the government in Jharkhand would not allow to hold such contest at any cost.
THE CONTEST IS ORGANISED IN JMM LEGISLATOR SIMON MARANDI’S VILLAGE IN DUMARIA. THE MLA WAS SLAMMED BY DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES FOR ORGANISING THE CONTEST LAST YEAR IN DECEMBER