Chief minister Nitish Kumar assures action against Madhubani case accused

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said action would be taken against those involved in the killing of five persons at Mohmadpur village under Benipatti police station area in Madhubani district on Holi.
Responding to a query, Nitish said instructions have already been issued to the senior police officers to ensure arrest of the culprits at the earliest and bring the case to the logical conclusion after proper investigation.“There is a clear instruction to the police not to spare anybody involved in committing crimes. The DGP briefed me about the incident today and on earlier occasions also,” he added.
The CM clarified that it was the sole responsibility of the police to check crime and initiate action against the offenders whosoever they may be. “What is significant is to conduct proper investigation and ensure prosecution,” he said.
The killings, including of three brothers, have generated political heat with leaders of different political parties making a beeline to meet the bereaved family and promising them speedy justice.
Twelve out of the 35 accused have been arrested and the properties of the absconders were attached. However, the main accused, Praveen Jha and Navin Jha, were still at large.
Benipatti BJP MLA Vinod Narayan Jha defended himself and said some people with vested interests were trying to give the incident a different colour, but truth will prevail. Jha said he was in New Delhi for the treatment of some close relatives. “Had I been there, I would have visited the village despite the site of occurrence falling under Harlakhi assembly constituency. I have great sympathy with the bereaved family. The culprits should be hanged for the crime,” he added.
Jha’s reactions came in the backdrop of some RJD and Left party leaders accusing him of shielding the accused. Even BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu criticised the state police for their failure to check such daring incidents. “Had the deceased been the members of minority community or Dalits, even the DGP would have visited the spot and shown keen interest in ensuring the arrest of the culprits. But in this case, the deceased didn’t belong to either of the two categories,” he said.
Earlier, Neeraj Kumar Singh @ Bablu, a minister in the Nitish government, had expressed his concern over the killings. Senior JD(U) leader Jai Kumar Singh also said the incident has revived the memory of massacres in the state.
However, JD(U) MLC Sanjay Singh said justice will be delivered to the family at the earliest.
LJP MP from Vaishali, Veena Devi, demanded arms licence to the close relatives of the deceased as they apprehended threat to their lives from the accused and their henchmen.
When contacted, Madhubani SP Satya Prakash said 12 accused have already been arrested in the case. The property of the main accused were attached as they were absconding.
He said Benipatti SHO Mahendra Singh was put suspended for dereliction of duty. The victims’ family had accused the SHO of not taking action in a case lodged earlier against the rival groups.
Authoritative sources said the March 29 incident was a fallout of a dispute over fishing in a pond between Mohmadpur and Gaibipur villages in November last year. Two separate FIRs were lodged by rival groups led by Sanjay Singh and Pravin Jha, respectively.
While Sanjay, a resident of Mohmadpur, had lodged an FIR against Praveen and his associates, the latter’s close aide Mukesh Safi had accused the former of hatching a murder conspiracy. Sanjay is in jail in connection with that case. Suraj Narain Singh, a close relative of the deceased, said, “We want justice and nothing else.”