Has crime really increased in Bihar?

The reason for a change in public perception about the Nitish Kumar-led government is that criminals defy the police and engage in daylight murder in the public domain. “Sarkar ka iqbal khatna ho gaya hai (the government has lost its authority)” is a common refrain.

The murder of two road construction engineers in Darbhanga last December sounded the alarm bell. Another engineer was killed in Muzaffarpur and an assistant sub-inspector was found murdered in the fields of Hajipur in January. While the state police collected crime data to support their claim that there is no increase in the crime, three back-to-back murders of politicians – two from BJP and one from LJP – in last 10 days further exposed the Bihar police.

Bank robberies and the looting of bank cash vans have been common in the past three months. At least 15 such cases have been reported but the police look in self-denial.

CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have been using the catchline of “kanoon ka raaj” in Bihar but they don’t sound too convincing. No big arrests have been made in the major cases. That the RJD Nawada MLA was suspended from the party for allegedly raping a minor and the JD (U) Jokihat MLA was suspended for a sexual assault case, only tarnish the image of the government further.

Nitish Kumar’s biggest USP has been law and order control and good governance. The image-conscious CM has been trying to arrest the drift but the results are not showing yet. With panchayat polls due in March-April, law and order control is a further challenge for Nitish.

A disconcerting WhatsApp joke has been doing the round these days – “Goli maar denge kapaad mein, agar ghumne nahi aaye Bihar mein”. The Bihar government needs to be wary of such jokes becoming a reality