Jharkhand govt directs police to remain on high alert

The Jharkhand government on Saturday directed deputy commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all the 24 districts of the state to remain on high alert round-the-clock for one week in the wake of the Supreme Court's judgement on the Ayodhya case.

Chief Secretary D K Tiwari directed all the district administrations to keep security forces in "alert- mode", an official release said here.

The chief secretary directed the DCs and SPs not to give permission for any religious or social functions as of now.

Tiwari said government offices should remain open for all days for one week and those officials who are on leave should return to duty immediately.

The deputy commissioners and superintendents of police are permitted to take decisions while monitoring localities, he said, adding there should be continuous police patrolling so that peace-loving people can feel secure and a vigil kept on anti-social elements.

The chief secretary also instructed the officials to keep a vigil on social media to prevent rumours, ensure action on any objectionable content and issue denials of such contents.

The DCs and SPs should take every piece of information seriously and inform the state headquarters, he said.

Asking to keep vigil at public places and religious places, he said as per requirements flag-march could be taken out by security forces.

He also instructed the DCs and SPs to take a decision as per situation to close schools and colleges and if required liquor shops could also be closed.

He told them to keep a vigil on any unclaimed thing, immediately dispose it off, if found and check vehicles.

The chief secretary also chaired a high-level meeting attended by additional chief secretary (Home) Sukhdev Singh, DGP Kamal Nayan Choubey, DGP (Headquarters) P R K Naidu, ADGs Ajay Kumar Singh and Murari Lal Meena and IGs Naveen Kumar Singh and Saket Kumar

The Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict on Saturday cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India's history, a 5-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi put an end to the more than a century-old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation.