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 Patna,
Nov 1 :Ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator Anant Singh and his henchmen
assaulted two journalists here Thursday, and then attacked a whole group of newsmen
when they went to Singh's house to protest the original assault. Several journalists
were injured. The lawmaker and four of his followers have been arrested.
Anant
Singh -- who is facing over two dozen criminal cases including charges of murder,
kidnapping, extortion and threat -- and his henchmen first beat up NDTV correspondent
Prakash Singh and cameraman Habib Ali when they went to his house. Then,
when a group of journalists -- including TV news channel reporters and cameramen
-- gathered in front of Anant Singh's official residence to protest the first
attack, the legislator and his cronies abused and threatened them. They
then allegedly attacked the media persons, injuring several of them, and also
damaged the cameras of two TV channels. The
arrests came more than five hours after the incidents.  In
the first attack, Prakash Singh -- a senior correspondent of NDTV -- and cameraman
Habib Ali were forcibly held hostage for two hours and mercilessly beaten by Anant
Singh and his men when the journalists went to seek the legislator's reaction
on reports of his alleged involvement in the rape of a young woman.
The
two journalists were rushed to a local hospital. "Cameraman
Habib and I went to take a reaction from Anant Singh about his alleged involvement
in the rape of a young woman. But he behaved dangerously. He and his henchmen
attacked us and beat us mercilessly at his residence and also abused us,"
Prakash Singh said. Sunil
Kumar, deputy inspector general of police, later told newspersons that police
had arrested Anant Singh and his men under non-bailable sections of the Indian
penal code. He
refused to answer when asked why it took so long to take action against the legislator.
"The Patna senior superintendent of police is inquiring into the case,"
was all he would say. Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was inaccessible to the media since morning. Other
leaders of the ruling party refused to comment. Anant
Singh, a legislator from Mokama, is considered close to the chief minister. The
legislator is one of the notorious 'bahubali' politicians of Bihar -- those who
wield a lot of muscle power. In
2004, Singh was seen brandishing an AK-47 rifle in public. But no action was taken
against him. Under the law, only security personnel are allowed to carry the assault
rifle. 
Leader
of opposition in the Bihar assembly Rabri Devi, former chief minister and wife
of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, joined media persons to demand the arrest of
Anant Singh. Rabri
Devi, of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has given a call for 'Bihar Bandh' (statewide
strike) on Saturday to protest the incident. "All the opposition parties,
including RJD, Congress and Left would join the strike to expose the kushashan
(mis-governance) of the Nitish Kumar-led government," she told reporters. Comment Comments... Our
MLAs & MPs and other VIPs should meticulously follow law to set example for
others. This is the only way that we can strengthen democratic values in the country.
S.
Vatsya svatsya@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Law
should be strictly enforced irrespective of the caste creed or the status of the
assailant and the victim. Every day one can see people being abused and assaulted
without any notice from the media. But when powerful men become victim everybody
including media takes notice. This is why law & order refuses to improve in
Bihar. Police men bureaucrats and politicians are almost above law. so far their
conduct with respect to other sections of the society or public/private facilities
are concerned. If Nitish Kumar wishes to be called a great Chief Minister he has
to bring every body under the purview of law as equals=
SKRC skrc88@gmail.com
------------------------------------- This
is the most deplorable thing to happen. The feudal-criminal content of the politicians'
personalities, refuse to come to terms with the modern democratic institutions
like press/media. Nitish Kumar ahs done the right thing to take prompt and appropriate
actions like instituting CBI enquiry without delay and pushing the MLA Anant Singh
immediately behind the bars. One hopes, despite the reported close relations between
the CM and the MLA, law will be allowed to take its course. Rabri led administration
is reported to have protected Anant Singh in about 30 cases, the RJD's cry, therefore,
is just an attempt to fish in the troubled waters of Bihar. Since the killed girl,
reportedly happens to be a Muslim, Laloo-Rabri may try to give a nasty turn to
the issue. After actions against the gun weilding MLA,Munna Shukla, who also,
like Anant Singh happens to be from Bhumihar caste, there is an impression that
this particular social group/caste is trying to go away from Nitish led JD-U and
another disgusting politician, George Fernandes, the MP from Muzaffarpur, a Bhumihar
stronghold, is also trying to capitalise on it. All these things may give great
discomfiture to Nitish. It also gives an apprehension to many people that Nitish
may stealthily try to protect him. If that happens, it may prove Nitish Kumar's
beginning of fall, paving way for disgusting Laloo and therefore miserable suffering
of the people of Bihar. Hope, Nitish is listening. Dr
M. Sajjad Lecturer, Centre of Advanced Study in History AMU, Aligarh mdsajjad1@rediffmail.com ------------------------------------ The
brutal rape and murder of Reshma should be condemned in the strongest terms and
the perpetrators brought to justice rapidly. Justice delayed is justice denied.
People of Bihar across party lines should join hand to cleanse the state from
criminals and of protect fellow citizens. The
allegations against Anant Singh is symptomatic of "criminal-political nexus"
rampant in our state. There should be an immediate CBI probe into this incident.
Additionally, there should be expeditious investigation and trial of some twenty
other "bahubalis" in Bihar politics as announced earlier by Nitish government.
The
disruption in law and order caused by Rabri Devi and her henchmen is deplorable.
Once again she has shown her inability to work with a system in a peaceful and
orderly manner. Moreover, she seems oblivious of the fact that several people
like Anant Singh have flourished in Lalu-Rabri regime, and her husband himself
is faced with legal charges involving multi-million fodder-scam and possession
of disproportionate wealth.Obviously, she is not interested in uplifting moral
values or protecting people; her sole motto is to gobble-up power from the current
government.
We do not need Rabri, Lalu, or any other politician to ensure our safety. The
need of the hour for the Biharis is to join hands irrespective of cast, creed,
or party,and exert pressure on the state and central government to weed out criminals
from politics and society. I hope the local and central governments heed our entreaties
and act swiftly.People of Bihar will guarantee removal of both Manmohan Singh
and Nitish Kumar if they fail to act justly in this matter. My sincere condolences
to sister Reshma's family. Abhay
Singh, USA abhaykmrsingh@hotmail.com
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