Criminals in Bihar are fearlessly threatening MPs, MLAs and other politicians even as the state’s JD(U)-BJP government claims to have restored the rule of law. Four latest incidents, on top of a statewide surge in crime, have added to the government’s embarrassments.
Threatening calls and messages were received by BJP MP from Araria Pradip Kumar Singh, RJD legislator from Marhaura Jitendra Kumar Rai, RJD state women’s wing general secretary Kanchan Singh and JD(U) leader Suresh Konwar of Muzaffarpur on their mobile phones in the past three days. The criminals had decidedly no discrimination between politicians from the ruling and the Opposition parties.
Although the four leaders lodged FIRs with the police and gave the cops the phone numbers of the callers, no arrest has been made so far, they said. Worse, the RJD legislator, who had received the first threatening call on Saturday, received another call from the same number on Monday. “The caller, possibly a criminal, repeated his threat, saying he wanted to kill me,” said Mr Rai.
“I received two SMSes on my mobile phone number, allotted by the Lok Sabha, on Saturday that said I must keep ready `10 lakhs in cash by 10 am on Sunday or else I will be gunned down. The message was from an unknown number. I lodged an FIR in Patna,” said BJP MP Pradip Kumar Singh. He had also received similar threats on his mobile phone two years ago. Investigations found that the messages were sent to the MP from a mobile number registered in the name of a youth in Nalanda district, who had never used that number.
Six Bihar politicians have received threats on their mobile phones in the past three months.