Curfew extended in Ranchi, town bades farewell to its DySP

People paid tributes with flowers as the cavalcade passed through Dhurwa, Hinoo and Doranda to reach the Swarnarekha cremation site. Many of them intermittently shouted U.C. Jha amar rahe.

Jha was in the eye of a storm since December 28 when a minor Muslim girlArfin died in the accident caused by the JMP truck in Doranda. As the driversped away the relatives and friends of Arfin’s parents marched towards theDoranda chowk demanding arrest of the driver.

Towards the same end a group of them held the jam at the Doranda chowk whileanother group held demonstration outside the South Divisional Commissionerresidence. “Jha reached the chowk and persuaded them to lift the jam,” said an eye witness.

Minutes later, a jeep carrying CRPF personnel jawans came to a halt in front of the demonstrators near the DIG’s residence, near the chowk. “These CRPF jawans got down from the jeep and used force to disperse them. The people ran helter-skelter,” recalled Nand Kumar Ram, president of Jharkhand Police Men’s Association, who claims to be an eye witness of the incident.

Soon, Jha came running towards the DIG’s residence. “A pitched battle ensuedbetween three CRPF jawans and the miscreants. But when the later overpowered the former and tried to snatch their rifles, they opened fire leading to the death of three persons,” said Ram.

The crowd which went wild with rage is believed to have attacked Jha with stones. He was hit on the head. “Though bleeding, Jha saheb was not willing to leave the site. But the City SP Sampat Meena goaded him to go for first aid,” Ram added.

Later, Jha was operated upon at the Sewa Sadan hospital on December 29 and he was declared dead yesterday. “Jha had told me at the hospital that he had never ordered firing,” said Meena with tears in eyes.

If these police personnel are to be believed, the allegation levelled byvarious groups of Muslims in the town that Jha had ordered the firing waserroneous. “We want the murderers of Jha to be nabbed. Otherwise we will proceed on an indefinite strike soon,” said JPMA Secretary Parshuram Singh.

Even though the state government has announced a compensation package for Jha entailing Rs 7.5 lakh and a job for his wife Ranjana Jha, the JPMA has demanded Rs 25 lakh in addition to her appointment as DySP and arrest of his killers.

At the same time the JPMA has convened an `emergency’ meeting of itsexecutive body on January 3 to discuss the plan of action. The mood among therank and file of the police, from constable upto the DySP, is surcharged withgrief and anger.

Elsewhere in the town, two shops of a tailor and a quilt-seller were burntby miscreants even as curfew continued for the third consecutive day.