Murder of Doctor, Senior Lawyer Triggers Widespread Protests in Bihar

Patna: The killing of a doctor and a reputed lawyer in different parts of Bihar over the last 24 hours has exposed the state’s growing crime rate and triggered angry protests by doctors and lawyers. With the state reeling under a growing crime rate, Opposition leaders have repeatedly targeted the ruling National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar.

In a separate incident, a school teacher was injured after being shot by unidentified criminals in Buxar district on Thursday.

Priyaranjan Kumar Priyadarshi, a government doctor posted at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Gokhilpur in Nalanda district, was shot dead in broad daylight by motorcycle-borne criminals on Thursday, when he was on his way to work. The incident angered the medical fraternity of Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who never misses a chance to claim that rule of law prevails in the state and that crime is totally under control.

Priyadarshi was a close relative of former Janata Dal (United) MLA Sunil Kumar.

In another incident, well-known lawyer Kameshwar Pandey was shot dead in his house in Bhagalpur late on Thursday night, by unidentified criminals. The murder of Pandey, the Vice President of the State Bar Council, sent shock waves among lawyers across the state. In Bhagalpur, lawyers wore black badges and staged a protest.

This morning, lawyers in Bhagalpur held an emergency meeting and decided to keep away from court work on Friday. They also demanded that the police arrest the criminals behind the murder.

Meanwhile, hundreds of private and government doctors took to the streets of Nalanda under the banner of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The doctors are staging a sit-in protest and have blocked roads, demanding compensation to the victim’s family and the arrest of Priyadarshi’s assailants.

On-strike doctors closed the OPD service in Sadar Hospital and are staging a dharna in its premises. “The killing of a doctor has exposed the reality that law and order has collapsed in the district. Criminals are free to target anyone and murder them,” said former district IMA president, Dr Suneeti Sinha.

Sinha said the doctors will continue their agitation till the assailant is arrested by the police and until the administration provides them with adequate security.

The agitating doctors said that doctors across the state will be on strike in solidarity on Saturday.

Bihar Opposition leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav, had attacked CM Nitish Kumar and termed these incidents of crime as an example of real jungle raaj (unruly governance). Yadav said that there were reports of murder, rape, loot, shootouts and bomb attacks. “In Bihar, there is no law and order and rule of law hardly exists,” he said.

Yadav added that the CM repeatedly claims that he will never compromise with crime, corruption and communalism. However, in reality, he said, the CM has surrendered before criminals in his self-proclaimed sushashan-raj (good governance).

Opposition members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and CPI (ML) raised the law and order issue in the ongoing budget session of the State Assembly and asked the Government to explain the rise in crime.

Angry over a rising crime graph, people took to the streets over the last two months in different parts of Bihar to protest against killings and instances of robbery, rape and loot. They blocked roads, burnt tyres and raised slogans against the Government.

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2017, Bihar has earned the dubious distinction of recording the second highest number of dowry deaths and murders in the country after Uttar Pradesh.

As per the NCRB – at 22.5% – Bihar tops the list of states with cases of communal riots registered nationwide in 2017. As per the report, 214 people were affected in 163 cases of communal riots registered from Bihar in 2017. The overall number of cases across the country in the same year stood at 723 cases with 1,092 victims across the country. The number is alarming when compared to 2016 figures from the state. That year, Bihar ranked third (139 cases, 165 victims) in communal riot cases and came in at fourth (79 cases, 146 victims) in 2015.