PATNA: With Bihar police having arrested BJP MP Hari Manjhi’s son Rahul Kumar Manjhi for consuming alcohol with his friends, the Opposition RJD and HAM on Monday accused the state’s NDA government of targeting Dalits by the stringent prohibition law.
Hari Manjhi, who is a two-term BJP MP from Gaya (reserved) seat and hails from the Dalit caste of Musahars, criticised the police action, dubbing it as a step motivated by political ill will and aimed at settle scores. Police, however, claimed that Rahul, 18, was found violating the provisions of the two-year-old prohibition law.
Rahul was picked up along with two other men by a team of policemen at Nama West village under Gaya Medical College police station on Sunday evening. The police team had visited the village to arrest sellers of liquor, said officials.
“A breathalyzer test on him confirmed that they had consumed alcohol. The two other men, Bigan Manjhi and Munrik Chaudhary, were arrested for selling liquor,” said Gaya SP (City) Gaurav Mangla. Gaya SSP Garima Malik said the arrests were made “only on the basis of solid evidence”.
A livid Hari Manjhi said: “My son was arrested under a conspiracy hatched with political animosity. I had informed the DIG, Magadh Range, about illegal liquor trade in and around Nama village with the active collusion of police. Now, instead of acting on my information, police falsely implicated my son to settle scores”. DIG Vinay Kumar was unavailable for comment on the matter.
“Most of the people arrested and thrown in jails for drinking alcohol in Bihar are Musahars and from other poor and Dalit groups. Now it is the son of an MP, who is a Dalit,” said RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari.
Bihar ex-CM and Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi slammed the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government over the arrest. “The prohibition regime has mainly targeted the poor, vulnerable sections of the people, especially Dalits, whereas liquor is being home-delivered across the state,” he said. Interestingly, it was Hari Manjhi who had defeated Jitan Ram Manjhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The latter was then in JD(U).
The ruling JD(U), however, rubbished the charges. “Classifying law-breakers by their caste identities is condemnable. The fact that the son of an MP of the ruling alliance is arrested for violating prohibition shows the state government is impartial in enforcing the law,” said JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.
Since prohibition was enforced in Bihar in April 2016, about 1.27 lakh people were arrested in connection with the 1.05 lakh FIRs lodged for violation of the law and 8,123 people were in jails for liquor law offences as on March 12 this year.