Patna, Oct 16: Bihar Police are baffled at the recent rise in incidents of mobs blinding suspected criminals and are blaming movies for it. Four such incidents have been reported in the state during the last two months and on Sunday, three persons lost their eyes in two cases in Sheikhpura and Sitamarhi districts.
Inspector General of Police (headquarters), Neelmani said that such frenzied mob behaviour had taken place earlier also, but alleged that films such as Prakash Jha's 'Gangajal' were contributing to the violent behaviour.
In the first incident, a group of bus passengers and villagers caught two brothers, who reportedly tried to loot a bus in Mehush village of Sheikhpura district and after severely thrashing them, pierced their eyes with screw drivers. The police took the victims, identified as Dayanand Yadav and Adhik Yadav, to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for specialised treatment.
Another incident took place on the same day at a local public health centre in Bathaulia village of Sitamarhi district where some flood-affected people had taken shelter.
Two families, one of Ramadhar Das and another of Mohammad Hameed, clashed over the limited space available. Mohammad Mustafa, a relative of Hameed, reportedly misbehaved with Ramadhar's daughter Chunchun Kumari following which angry onlookers grabbed Mustafa and after severely beating him poured acid into his eyes. In August, two cases of gouging out eyes of as many persons on the charge of theft were reported from Khagaria and Banka districts.
Neelmani said that the sudden spurt in such gruesome incidents had left the police baffled. ''The police have initiated prompt action in all the cases reported, but we have to think how to stop it completely,'' he added.
Police had lodged FIRs in all the four incidents and investigations were on. Bureau Report