Speedy trial in lynching case,collective fine to check recurrence

Patna, Sep 15 (UNI) The Bihar government will ensure conviction of the accused who had lynched ten thieves at Rajapakar in Vaishali district through speedy trial and slap a collective fine of Rs 5000 on each person in the localities if such incidents recur.

The state government has also decided reshuffling of police officers who have completed the tenure of two years at their places of posting.

State Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah told newspersons here today that at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the government had decided to take a number of measures to check recurrence of such incidents.

He said that CID, which was investigating the lynching case, had been directed to file chargesheet within a week to 10 days while a separate administrative inquiry was being conducted to fix the responsibility of police officers for their lapses in the incident.After the report, stringent action would be taken against the erring police officers, he added.

He said that family members of those lynched at Rajpakar would be rehabilitated and attempts were being made to locate their family members.'' It is still not clear whether those lynched had committed theft on that fateful night'', he said adding if their involvement in theft was not proved, the crime would be treated as all the more heinous.

He said that there was no spurt in theft cases in Rajpakkar as only two FIRs in this connection were registered at the concerned police station during the last three months.''The state government will not allow people to take law into their hands at any place and under any circumstances,''he said.

''If any such incident occurs at any locality in future, fine of upto Rs 5000 per head will be slapped in entire area which will act as deterrent,'' he said.

Mr Amanullah said that the state government had directed to ensure the security of women and children at Rajpakar as most of the male members including the accused in the case had deserted the village.He said that chargesheet had been filed against the accused in similar case at Bhojpur while those involved in killings at Logai village during Bhagalpur riot in 1989 had been convicted.

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