Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on Monday ‘summoned’ DGP Neeraj Sinha, Deputy Commissioner Ranchi Chhavi Ranjan and senior officials at Raj Bhavan and asked them to make public names and addresses of all protesters and display their photographs on hoardings at main places so that the people can identify them and help the police. According to a release issued by the state Public Relations Department, the Governor asked the officials: “Find out details of all protestors and those who have been caught, make their names/addresses public, make their hoardings by displaying their photographs at main places in the city so that the public can also identify them and help police.” Quoting Bais, the release stated, “People who are spreading rumours through or in social media about these incidents, have you identified them and taken any action against them? All such people need to be identified and punished.” The government is yet to take a call on this. A protest organised on June 10 in state capital Ranchi over controversial remarks on the Prophet by now suspended BJP spokespersons saw hundreds of people taking part. The protest later turned violent. Bais, according to the media release, asked the top officers why preventive measures were not taken to disperse the mob. He asked them basic questions on the number of security personnel, preparedness, and why the police were not wearing any protective gear during the protest. The Governor asked what inputs the IB, CID and Special Branch had provided to the police. To this, DGP Niraj Sinha told the Governor that the IB had given inputs that 150 people were “expected to create chaos”. The government's release did not mention anything on preparedness. Meanwhile, Ranchi Police has arrested five people for the violence on June 10. They were identified as Mohammad Arif, Belal Ansari, Mohammad Ashfaq Mansoor, Mohammad Anees and Mohammad Danish Khan. Police said six of 22 named accused are currently under treatment at a hospital in Ranchi. On Monday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren told reporters that many “shocking news and videos” are emerging from various places and said they have to be looked into. “Today every news, every video seems to have some hidden agenda. We have to see through it. And we have to protect our democracy and the Constitution in these trying times.” Two persons were killed and over two dozen people, including several police officials, were injured during the protests. “The country is going through a peculiar phase. We need to move forward with great care and understanding,” Soren said.
