Jamshedpur, Feb. 14: Security has been beefed up in Vilash Bhatta bustee and Rupnagar, near the Marine Drive in Sonari, to ensure peace following clashes between residents of the two slums on Saturday.
In fact, two murders took place in the area during the past three days sparking off high voltage tension.
Six policemen were suspended late last night for negligence following the revenge killing of a 23-year-old youth Kalicharan Mahto at Vilash Bhatta bustee on Saturday morning.
Senior superintendent of police, Anoop T Mathew suspended the policemen as they had avoided responding to a call by the murder victim’s elder brother Durga, while the assailants took the victim away and murdered him.
The constables who have been suspended include Shushil Lakra,Murli Bhuiyan, Chandrakant Prakash Swashi, and Naval Kishore Ram – all belonging to the Tiger Mobile, Uma Paswan and Nathaniul Murmu, both posted at Nirmal Nagar thana out-post.
Mathew said the six policemen were suspended on the statement given by the murder victim’s brother Durga. He said that it was responsibility of the police to respond immediately in such situation.
“On Saturday when Kalicharan’s auto-rickshaw was stopped by a gang of six assailants near Vilash Bhatta and he was dragged inside, the victim’s brother Durga rushed to a nearby police post and informed the policemen posted there to rescue his brother. But instead of action, the six policemen did not pay heed to the distress call by Durga,” Mathew said.
Kalicharan, a resident of Rupnagar, who was also handicapped, was killed while he was returning home in his auto-rickshaw after dropping school children.
After the assailants intercepted him near Villash Bhatta, the victim was dragged to a place where he was first hacked by a weapon and later stoned to death. His murder was a sequel to avenge of the murder of 18-year-old Biru Mahali who had also been bludgeoned to death at Rupnagar on Thursday night.
Sonari police station officer in-charge, Suman Anand said that they have deployed 40 armed police men at both Rupnagar and Vilash Bhatta bustee.
“Tension is prevailing in the area and armed policemen have been deployed to suppress attack by any of the two groups who are still blood thirsty of each other,” said the officer-in-charge.
Suman said they have not made any arrest in connection to the twin murders along the Marine Drive, adding that four persons who had been caught by police on Saturday.
Notably, Rupnagar, Vilash Bhatta, Nirmal Nagar and half-a-dozen other slums that came up along the Marine Drive are all illegal settlements.
After Saturday’s revenge killing, the district administration has declared that they would verify if the houses set up in these slums are on encroached land and evict residents if it was found to be true.