The Aryavarth Express
NAWADA (BIHAR): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday condemned the torching of 34 houses, mostly belonging to SC and ST communities, in Nawada district and asked ADG (law and order) to visit the spot and oversee the probe.
The police have so far arrested 15 people, including prime accused Nandu Paswan, after arsonists torched 31 houses in Manjhi Tola in Mofussil police station area in the previous evening.
Police also seized three country-made pistols, several live and spent cartridges, and six motorcycles from their possession.
A senior official in the chief minister’s office said, “The CM condemned the incident and instructed the additional director general of police (law and order) to monitor the probe on-site.”
Kumar also emphasised the need to apprehend all suspects as quickly as possible.
“The CM stressed that those who take the law into their hands must be caught and punished. He directed all district magistrates and superintendents of police across the state to ensure that the rule of law prevails,” the official said.
Kumar also instructed all DMs and SPs to conduct searches in prisons to check for unlawful activities.
Investigations indicated that a land dispute may have triggered the violence on Wednesday evening.
Nawada District Magistrate Ashutosh Kumar Verma told PTI, “The district police have arrested 15 people, including the prime accused, for allegedly torching the houses. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, and searches are underway to apprehend remaining suspects.”
An FIR has been registered against 28 people, including 15 arrested accused, in connection with the incident, he added.
Verma said that around 34 houses, some of which were semi-pucca, were torched by a group. Investigations revealed that 21 houses were completely destroyed and 13 were damaged partially.
He said the probe suggests a 29-year-old land dispute as the motive behind the incident, and most of the houses were of people belonging to the SC and ST communities.
A case has also been registered under the Arms Act and SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the DM said.
It is also suspected that the accused initially fired in the air before setting the houses ablaze, he added.
“We are providing relief materials, including food packets and drinking water, to those displaced. Temporary tents have been set up for the victims. The district administration has also initiated the process of providing Rs 1 lakh relief to each family whose houses were torched. Those families whose houses have been partially damaged will also get relief from the administration,” the DM said.
After the incident, Nawada Superintendent of Police Abhinav Dhiman had said, “A call was received around 7.15 pm regarding the fire in Manjhi Tola. Police reached promptly with fire engines and extinguished the blaze.”
Meanwhile, the incident has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling alliance partners of the NDA government and the opposition.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a post on X, said, “The Nawada incident highlights the horrifying picture of injustice against the Bahujans in Bihar. This incident has not even succeeded in waking up the state government, which is in a sleeping mode.”
“Such anarchist elements find shelter under the leadership of the BJP and its NDA allies—they intimidate and suppress the Bahujans of India so that they cannot even demand their social and constitutional rights. And the silence of the Prime Minister is a seal of approval on this big conspiracy,” he added.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, in a post on X, said, “Respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, houses of Dalits have been set on fire under your double-engine government in Bihar. The PM must say a few words on this ‘Mangalraj’ as whatever is happening is all because of the will of almighty God, and the NDA leaders have no control over this.”
Yadav said the PM should also say why Nitish Kumar, chief of the JD(U), which is the NDA’s third-largest constituent, has stopped saying anything on such incidents.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said, “I spoke to Nawada’s DM and SP in connection with the incident. It is a highly condemnable incident. Most of the criminals involved in the incident have been arrested, and those who are absconding will soon be put behind bars.”
The founder of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an alliance partner of the NDA, said he would visit the spot on September 22.
He alleged that opposition leaders are indulgent in theatrics over the incident.
“Opposition leaders first get Dalits tortured and then question the working style of the government. Around 90 percent of the people arrested in the Nawada incident belong to a particular caste and are RJD supporters,” he alleged.
BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “The incident is highly condemnable… This kind of mentality will never be allowed to flourish. Those who indulge in such acts against Mahadalits and want to bring jungle raj will not be spared.”
In a post on X, Chirag Paswan, Union minister and chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), wrote, “The incident in Nawada is extremely shameful and reprehensible. Being a major ally of the NDA government, I demand from the CM Nitish Kumar ji that culprits should be arrested as soon as possible and given the harshest punishment, and every possible provision should be made for financial help to the victims.”
“I also demand a judicial inquiry into the matter so that no one dares to commit such an incident in the future,” he added.