BJP leader Kapil Mishra was detained by police at Ranchi airport and prevented from heading to Barhi in Hazaribagh on Wednesday for fear of escalting tension in the area that experienced violence recently over the alleged lynching of a youth.
Mishra announced on twitter at 9.10am that he was being detained at the airport. Four hours later while being sent back to Delhi, he issued a video lashing out at the Hemant Soren government for not allowing him to visit Barhi.
“I was here to meet the family of Rupesh Kumar Pandey, who was lynched on February 6," he alleged. "Is going to meet his family a crime? Rather than stopping me and imposing all kinds of curbs, the government must focus on stopping crimes and criminals in this state,” he said, adding that the BJP would stand by Pandey's family in its fight for justice.
Later, Mishra is undeerstood to have spoken to the family members of the victim over phone.
Ranchi deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan and Senior SP S. K. Jha did not respond to phone calls. But district police sources said Mishra was not allowed to visit the area in the interest of law and order. “The Hazaribagh district administration has written to Ranchi administration stating that the situation is sensitive and asked us not to allow his visit. Even intelligence reports indicate that there have been attempts to incite a communal flare-up in the state by certain elements. Therefore, he was not allowed to go,” said an official.
Rupesh (17) was assaulted by a group of people during Saraswati Puja immersions on February 6. Soon after his death, clashes broke out in Dulmaha and adjoining villages of Barhi. The next day, the district administration suspended internet services and clamped Section 144 in the area. To prevent further flare-ups, internet services were also suspended in Chatra, Koderma, Giridih and Ramgarh districts in addition to imposing prohibitory orders.
Hazaribagh police initially lodged FIRs against 27 people and arrested around seven persons. All belong to the minority community. But police deny that Pandey was a victim of mob lynching.
Opposition BJP and its affiliates have been holding a series of protests since then, accusing the police and the Hemant Soren government of going soft on the culprits.
Reacting to Mishra's detention at the airport, state BJP leaders accused state government of choking democratic rights of individuals. Babulal Marandi, who is leader of the BJP legislature party, tweeted, “Dear CM, what message are you giving to the world by not allowing Kapil Mishra to meet the family? By doing so, you have exposed your government’s stand towards one’s democratic rights.”
Several state BJPleaders, namely, former chief ministers Raghubar Das and Marandi, and Hazaribag MP Jayant Sinha visited the village and met Pandey's family in the last few days.
Chief minister Hemant Soren also dispatched a five-member team of ministers and MLAs to meet the victim's family. MLAs from the ruling coalition have also met Pandey's family with the assurance of government assistance and a crackdown on the culprits.
