Jamshedpur, May 13: The district administration has beefed up the security in the steel city in view of the Jharkhand bandh called by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Saturday (May 14).
Police on Friday started random arrests of party activists in view of tomorrow’s bandh call to protest the state government�s recently-declared resident’s policy. Administration has also imposed Section 144.
The district police took 47 JMM activists, including some key party functionaries, from different police station areas into custody. The district police has, however, a plan to carry out intensive raids at the houses of the JMM activists at night and take most of them custody to make tomorrow�s bandh ineffective.
Other parties which extend their support for the tomorrow’s Jharkhand band include Jharkhand Party and CPI-ML.
Some of the JMM activists who were taken into custody include Kamaljeet Kaur, Laltu Mahto, Mantu Gope and Rupesh Mahto. DSP (Police Control Room) J Kerketta said that they have started arresting the JMM activists, keeping tomorrow’s Jharkhand bandh call in view.
�We are maintaining a strict vigil. We are making the preventive arrests and keeping those nabbed into safe custody in different police station areas. The arrested JMM activists will be released after 6 p.m. on Saturday,” said Kerketta.
Meanwhile, a JMM woman activist named Kamal jeet Kaur, who was picked up from Baridih locality in the morning, was taken to Golmuri police station where she fell seriously ill. As soon as she fell ill, the police rushed her to Tata Main Hospital where she is being treated from the illness.
Officer-in-charge of Golmuri police station, Satyendra Kumar Singh confirmed about Kamaljeet’s illness and admission to the Tata Main Hospital.
Significantly, the JMM leaders are hopeful of a total bandh tomorrow. An office bearer of East Singhbhum district JMM committee said that the administration was unnecessarily worried about the probable violence during the bandh tomorrow.
�The police officials have been asked to maintain vigil and increase their information collection networks and vigil especially in sensitive areas of city and rural areas. The administration will undertake preventive arresting of habitual trouble-mongers before the offence,� said a JMM office bearer.
Suraj Kumar, SDO Dhalbhum, said that the administration will also conduct video recordings of bandh protagonists enforcing bandh forcefully so that documents can be produced for nailing the bandh supporters.
Similarly, railway authorities have also been directed to initiate actions as per Railway Act for those who enter in an unauthorized manner the Tatanagar railway station premises, platforms and squat on railway tracks.
