Three days after clashes broke out in Ranchi between protesters demonstrating over the Prophet Muhammad remarks row and the police, the Jharkhand Police on Monday, 13 June, said that five people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
Governor Ramesh Bais has pulled up the police on the action taken in the case, asking them to speed up the process of taking action against the culprits.
The five arrested accused have been identified as Mohammed Arif alias Rinku Khan, Belal Ansari, Mohammed Ashfaque, Mohammed Anish and Mohammed Danish Khan, news agency ANI reported, citing the Ranchi Police.
Six named accused – Shahnawaz, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Tabarak, Afsar Alam, Sarfaraz Alam and Saveer Ansari Shahnawaz, Mohd Usman, Mohd Tabarak, Afsar Alam, Sarfaraz Alam and Saveer Ansari – are under medical treatment, as per the police.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand police released a poster with pictures of all the persons accused in the violence in Ranchi.
At least two persons succumbed to gunshot injuries in Ranchi while several police personnel were also injured in the violence that broke out during the protests on Friday. The police had fired shots into the air to quell the demonstrators.
The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Sahil, 20, and Mudassir Alam, 15, who was awaiting the results of the class X board examinations.
While Mudassir's father said he had no idea how his minor son received bullet injuries as he was not a part of the procession, Shakib Ansari, the brother of Sahil, claimed that he did not participate in Friday’s protest march.
'Why Didn't You Use Water Cannon, Tear Gas?': Guv Asks Police
Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on Monday summoned DGP Neeraj Sinha and other senior officials at Raj Bhavan, and raised questions as to why preventive action was not employed to disperse the protesters.
"Why didn't you use water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas. There was no provision for these things there. Why?" Bais asked the senior police and administrative officials, an official statement from Raj Bhavan said.
The governor also asked the police about the number of arrests made so far, and asked them to make the names and addresses of the accused public for easier identification. Bais also asked the police to take action against those spreading rumours on social media.
The director general of police informed Bais that as per an Intelligence Bureau (IB) report, a turnout of only 150 people was expected during the protest, as per a report by news agency PTI. However, thousands of people had taken part in the protest.
'Country Going Through Peculiar Phase': CM Soren
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, speaking about the 10 June violence, said that the situation in the country was critical and that there was a "hidden agenda" behind every incident.
“The country is going through a peculiar phase. We need to move forward with great care and understanding. People often make mistakes in impulses. This city is not a battlefield. We need to take every step understanding the current situation,” Soren was quoted as saying by PTI.
Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed before the Jharkhand High Court on Monday, seeking an NIA probe into the recent violence in Ranchi.
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