Widow felicitated for bravery during communal clash

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday felicitated an elderly widow Shail Devi at Azizpur village in Muzaffarpur for saving several people when communal clash took place on Sunday.

“She is a living example of secularism and should serve as a source of inspiration for others in our multi-religion pluralistic society,” Manjhi said while felicitating Shail Devi with a cheque of Rs 51,000 and a citation, besides ordering an Indira Awas unit and ‘old-age women pension’ for her.

Shail’s is the only Hindu family which resides in Azizpur, a nondescript village in south-east Muzaffarpur, where nearly 50 Muslim families stay in perfect harmony. 

But on Sunday when anti-social elements from nearby areas attacked the village following recovery of the missing boy’s body, three people of a particular community were charred to death. 

The fourth body was found on Monday.  
As the mob ran amuck, it was Shail who gave shelter to 15-odd people (from the other community) in her thatched house and locked it from outside. On Wednesday, Manjhi felicitated her and sang paeans to her act of bravery. The chief minister also announced Rs 20,000 each for  the education of Shail’s two daughters.

Meanwhile, RJD president Lalu Prasad visited the riot-affected village and tried to assuage the ruffled feathers of the victims.  

When some of the affected families demanded a judicial probe into the communal clash, Lalu shot back, “Has any of the previous Judicial Commission reports seen light of the day? Has it ever served any purpose? Manjhi ji has ordered a probe and some officers have been punished.  The police officials, who let the mob run amuck for three hours, will not be spared.”