The Hindu : National : A day of chaos in Bihar

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Sunday, Mar 16, 2008
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A day of chaos in Bihar

K. Balchand

PATNA: It was utter chaos in Bihar on Saturday. A prisoner was killed inside the jail, Bharatiya Janata Party members gheraoed their own Minister and thrashed a civil surgeon and the public went berserk after a bridge collapse resulted in the death of three persons.

Inside the Motihari jail, criminals settled scores and the rival group blasted a bomb and killed an allegedly notorious law breaker Munna Singh. The murder was carried out to avenge the murder of another alleged don Chote Lal Sahni while being produced before the Motihari district court as an undertrial prisoner last year.

Enquiry ordered

Authorities were silent on the issue of how the bomb was smuggled inside the prison. They maintained that an enquiry had been ordered.

In Motihari itself, the death of a woman in the government hospital led to a furore. The hospital staff beat up the attendants who happened to be BJP supporters.

They surrounded Health Minister Chandra Mohan Rai, who happened to be on a visit to the town, and demanded that he suspend the Civil Surgeon forthwith. However, the minister expressed his disinclination in taking such an action against a first class officer without an enquiry. Their insistence went in vain and they vented out their anger against the civil surgeon thrashing him.

In neighbouring Gopalganj district, a road bridge, which was under repair, on Maran River collapsed. In the resulting tragedy, a truck and a motorcycle were washed away killing the truck driver and his assistant and the motorcyclist.

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