Contractors chop off man's hands for not paying Rs 300

Costly debt

In a heart-rending incident which exposed the Nitish regime’s tall claims of “sushashan” (good governance) in Bihar, the hands of a 20-year-old labourer were chopped off by contractors from whom he had taken a nominal loan of Rs 300, but could not repay the debt.

The labourer Ram Sagar Chandravanshi, who was married last month, is at present undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital here. The incident took place at Arwal, some 90 km from here.

Chandravanshi owed Rs 300 to some contractors. “These people took me to Kodra village and asked me to work for them. I refused, but told them that I would repay the debt soon. This infuriated the contractors, who thrashed me mercilessly before chopping off my hands with an axe,” Chandravanshi, languishing on the floors of PMCH, narrated his tale of woes. “Before I fell unconscious, I heard them saying I will either have to pay or face the consequences,” he added.

The labourer’s woes did not end here. When his family went to lodge an FIR, it was not accepted initially. Even though it was accepted days later, Arwal SP Bimal Kumar termed it a “concocted story” and said Chandravanshi lost his hands after meeting with an accident on railway tracks near Danapur.

However, a sympathetic DIG, Magadh range, N H Khan took cognizance of the incident and ordered a thorough probe into the case.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties raised the barbaric incident in the House on Friday where Leader of the Opposition in the Council Ghulam Gaus took the government to task.

“The feudal elements are raising their ugly head again. These people need to be reined in soon,” he added.

Peeved over the incident and, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar immediately asked the police headquarters to investigate and get to the bottom of the matter. He also ordered the Health Department mandarins to ensure best possible treatment to the victim.
On Friday, Chandravanshi was shifted to a VIP bed in the PMCH. But the perpetrators of the crime are still at large.