This Week Jharkhand

Ever since his victory in the bypoll to the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat,former IPS officer Ajay Kumar has been plagued by allegations that he has links with Maoists.

New Jamshedpur MPs rivals find a voice,twice

Ever since his victory in the bypoll to the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat,former IPS officer Ajay Kumar has been plagued by allegations that he has links with Maoists. The day of the election,former BJP MLA Sarayu Rai released a CD claiming it had conversations between Kumar and CPIMaoist leader Samarji. Since then,the BJP has been alleging that he had sought help from Maoists to garner votes. Now,police say another audio CD has surfaced with a conversation between a man whose voice sounds like that of the newly elected Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MP,and someone who claims to be a Maoist. Police say they stumbled upon the second CD while investigating a complaint by another candidate in the bypoll,who alleged that he had been getting extortion calls. The CDs have been sent for voice analysis.

Why state is in No hurry to start work on caste census

The state rural development department has received a communique from the Centre asking it to start the process for a socio-economic/caste census,but the government has decided to start data collection only towards the end of the year. It has two reasons. One is that the monsoon has set in,leaving roads un-motorable and cutting off scores of villages. The other reason is that the state lacks trained staff,says RDD special secretary Paritosh Upadhyaya. We plan to start the work in November when there is a lull in agricultural activity, he says. Jharkhand has a huge bulky BPL list with 35 lakh families eligible for various benefits but Upadhyaya is aware of allegations that many well-to-do families are in it.

Key leaders quit maoist group,still pose threat individually

A Maoist arrested in Lohardaga has admitted to the police that the CPIMaoist is struggling with an exodus. Puran Ganjhu reportedly told the police that leader Sanjay Yadav was among eight senior cadres who have quit with their key men. Ganjhu himself carried an award of Rs 2 lakh on his head; he is accused in more than two dozen cases of murder,extortion and loot of police arms,one of these cases involving the recent landmine blast in Dhardharia where 11 police personnel were killed. The exodus,however,means the polices work has only become tougher,with the breakaway cadres forming new outfits in their areas of influence. Kishore Mantri,owner of a fleet of buses,said businessmen now have to contend with several extortion groups where there used to be one.

Free mobile van to ferry pregnant women to hospital

In a state where the deaths of expectant mothers has come down from 371 per 1,000 in 2001 to 312 in 2010,there is another reason to cheer about. The state Rural Health Mission has pressed into service a mobile van,Mamata Vahan,to ferry pregnant woman to the nearest hospital free. A 247 call centre,with 0651-3241679 as the number,has been set up at Sadar Hospital. However,not all are optimistic,given the health departments track record. A Rs-11-crore medicine scam allegedly involving a dozen-odd officials had led to the suspension of IAS officer Pradeep Kumar. Lets see how many expectant women benefit from this van, says a schoolteacher.