RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi. April 22: As the entire world was enjoying Eid, the Jharkhand police had a question and answer session with five BJP leaders, including three MLAs, C.P.Singh, Naveen Jaiswal and Samri Lal, State BJP president Deepak Prakash besides state media co-incharge Ashok Baraik on the matter of their party’s clash with the police on April 11 at Dhurwa roundabout.
The question-and-answer session, which started around 11.45am, lasted for half an hour in which the leaders were asked whether they were present at the time of clash or not, an insider said. Apart from this, the insider added, they were also asked about their involvement in it. Police also attempted to know whether they provoked the BJP workers to attack on the police with water bottles or stones or not.
The BJP leaders in their reply clarified that they were marching bare handed after having lunch at Prabhat Tara ground to lay siege to the government secretariat at Dhurwa when the police equipped with batons, firearms, tear gas shells and water cannons intercepted them putting a barricade on their way. They clarified that their demonstration was peaceful to throw corrupt Hemant Soren out of power and it was the police which invited trouble at the behest of the Hemant Soren government.
It was a session with a difference during which a media person was allowed to take photographs of the BJP leaders and the investigating officer sub inspector Anushek Kumar in the dilapidated room specified for questioning after the BJP leaders were noticed to turn up before the police. Apart from this, a big number of BJP supporters and media persons were allowed to assemble around the police station.
As the questioning was on, a big Eucalyptus in the police station premises fell down damaging a few vehicles parked under it. At times it appeared that it was pre planned to damage the BJP workers but later it was realized that it was the result of poor maintenance of police station building and premises, hardly 2km from the state police headquarters.
Coming out of the police station after questioning, Deepak Prakash said that the BJP had laid siege to the Secretariat peacefully, but at the behest of the Hemant government, the workers were lathicharged and tear gas shells were released to crush the peaceful movement.
“After an FIR was lodged police sent a notice calling the BJP leaders for questioning. As the BJP respects the law, its leaders turned up before the police station and cooperated in the investigation. The government may file not one but hundreds of cases against us, but we are not going to bend. If the Hemant Soren government has any guts, arrest us,” he said.
