PATNA: Jharkhand Governor, Ramesh Bais and chief justice, Ravi Ranjan on Tuesday directed the director general of police, Niraj Sinha to ensure the safety of the family of a minor student, Ankita who was set ablaze by a stalker at Dumka. The girl died at Ranchi hospital on Sunday evening.
Ramesh Bais called the home secretary and DG of police to Raj Bhavan and expressed his concern over rising incidents of attacks on women in the state. He talked to the father of the deceased girl and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakhs from the Raj Bhavan discretionary fund.
On Tuesday morning, Ranchi High Court suo motu took the notice of a girl's brutal killing by a jilted lover from another community. Chief Justice, Ravi Ranjan, directed DGP to provide security to the family and ensure the arrest of one more accused who was involved in the petrol attack on the girl. Court also expressed concern over poor investigations and instructed report should be submitted to High Court.
The state government constituted a ten-member special investigation team to probe the case. The controversial sub-divisional police officer, Noor Mustafa, who was investigating the case has been removed as he was charged with manipulating the FIR and claiming the girl was 19 years old. The SIT is being headed by Ambar Lakda, SP of Dumka. Former chief minister, Babu Lal Marandi, who had visited Dumka and met the family of the girl, had alleged that SDPO was helping the accused and protecting him.
Another former chief minister Raghuwar Das, alleged the UPA government was soft to the accused who was part of the greater Love Jehad design. He said there had been more than 1,000 cases of Love Jehad involving poor tribal girls in Jharkhand, but culprits were being protected on communal lines.
National Commission for Women chairperson, Rekha Sharma, today sent a message to DGP, Neeraj Sinha and asked him to submit a detailed report to the commission within a week. A team from the state women's commission visited Dumka and met Ankita's family.
The former industries minister and MLA from Jamshedpur, Saryu Rai, while addressing a protest meeting in the industrial town, demanded the accused who burnt Ankita to death should be shot dead in public at a prominent place. He should be hanged to a pole and shot dead, Rai said.
Meanwhile, protests continued in different parts of the state today. Activists of Bajrang Dal, BJP and Vidyarthi Parishad organised demonstrations at district headquarters of Bokaro, Giridih, Dhanbad, and Hazaribagh, burnt effigies of the two accused and demanded their capital punishment. Women and girl students held torchlight processions too.
The family of the deceased girl is not satisfied with the investigations and her father, Sanjiv Singh, on Tuesday demanded the investigation should be handed over to the CBI.
