Tension in Bihar’s Saran district leads to suspension of social media sites

The Bihar government on Monday suspended a number of social media sites in Saran district, in parts of which prohibitory orders were imposed following large-scale arson triggered by the killing of a villager last week.

According to a notification issued by the state home department, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram were among more than 20 social networking sites that will remain suspended till 11 pm "in the interests of peace and tranquility in Saran district".

Saran Superintendent of Police Gaurav Mangla said Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed in Manjhi police station area which has seen tension after a resident of Mubarakpur panchayat was beaten to death on Thursday while two others sustained serious injuries.

The trio was allegedly abducted by a locally influential person and his associates over a petty dispute. They were taken to a poultry farm and mercilessly beaten up.

A video footage of the brutal assault had been doing the rounds on social media, triggering tension in the area, especially among members of the caste group to which the deceased belonged.

Notably, the accused’s wife is the village head (mukhiya) of Mubarakpur and the prohibitory orders were clamped after a number of people raided the locality where the couple lived, setting many houses on fire.

"No person has been injured in the arson since occupants of the houses had fled sensing danger. The police have nabbed two persons in connection with the killing and are trying to catch the remaining accused. A Special Investigating Team headed by a Deputy SP has also been set up," said Mangla.

"Stern action will be taken against the arsonists as well. Videographers have been roped in to identify trouble makers. Properties of absconders will be attached. An FIR has also been lodged against those who had been circulating incendiary material on social media," he said.

The father of the deceased demanded, among other things, a "CBI inquiry" and the arrest of the mukhiya herself.

"The SHO of Manjhi must also be removed. Nobody in the district administration came to help us while my son was being mauled. We were treated shabbily at the hospital where we were not even provided with a vehicle to take my son's body back home," alleged the bereaved father.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and former state minister Neeraj Singh Bablu alleged that it was “return of the jungle raj” as RJD is once again in power.