Crime and no punishment

Yadav has reasons to be worried. In the gap of two days, the state witnessed two daring crimes that remain unsolved.

On May 21, the CPI Maoist pulled off a daring robbery. In broad daylight, two Maoists intercepted a private security van hired by ICICI Bank on the busy National Highway 33 and hijacked it at gunpoint. Then they took the van to a forest and set it on fire. They also allegedly abducted driver Vinay Kumar Singh and looted over Rs 5 crore, besides one kg and 30 gram of gold. The cash and the gold were being transported to the Ranchi branch of ICICI from Jamshedpur. Two days later, on May 23, Anil Sharma8212;a murder convict and an accused in more than two dozen cases of murder, loot and ransom8212;escaped from police custody. Police investigations revealed that Sharma produced certificates to show that he was suffering from chest pain and was brought to Ranchi from Hazipur jail in Bihar. He was admitted to the state government-run RIMS hospital for treatment on May 10.

While the police are still groping in the dark, Koda said, 8220;They are doing their best to solve these cases.8221; But not everybody believes him when he says that. So Sudhir Kumar and Ranjit Singh, two lawyers of the Jharkhand High Court, have faxed a memorandum to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi demanding his intervention in containing crime in the state. In turn, Razi has sent a letter to the Union Home Ministry with details about the two cases.

When DGP Ram was asked about the cases, he said, 8220;Investigations are on. We will let you know once we make a breakthrough.8221;

While the police have made no headway in the convict8217;s case, in the ICICI case, they have arrested Sagar Thakur, a private security guard. The only proof they have to show that Maoists were involved in the bank loot case is a poster on a wall in Ranchi8217;s Tamar block that read: 8220;We looted the cash and gold8230;Lal Salam8230;Lal Salam.8221;