The alarming rise in crime in Bihar has given ammunition to the Opposition parties to attack Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has been using every platform to raise the issue of the poor law and order situation during the Lalu-Rabri rule.

A group of armed criminals barged into a jewellery shop in Ara, Bhojpur, on Monday, took the staff on duty hostage at gunpoint after pushing off the security guard and ran away with jewellery worth over Rs 25 crore.

Advertisement

Several MLAs of the Opposition parties, led by Rabri Devi, protested at the Bihar Legislative Council on Tuesday accusing the state government of protecting criminals.

Senior RJD Legislative Councilor Abdul Bari Siddiqui said that ‘good governance’ remained a hollow claim. The truth is reflected in the people’s sufferings. “In Bihar, gold jewellery worth 25 crore are looted in broad daylight and the government is talking about Ram Rajya. If this is Ram Rajya, then it has no meaning. The government should pay serious attention to the increasing number of crime,” he added.

Commenting on the incident, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said expecting anything from the BJP-Nitish government is like deceiving yourself. Businessmen should take care of their own safety.

In a post on social media platform ‘X’, the RJD leader made a scathing attack on the Chief Minister. He wrote, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘beloved’ Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s goons carried out a robbery in broad daylight in the RSS-certified Ram Rajya, and easily looted jewellery worth Rs 25 crore in 15 minutes from the Tanishq showroom located a few steps away from the residence of the Superintendent of Police.”

“Hundreds of rounds of bullets are fired every day in Bihar. Hundreds of murders take place every month under the government’s protection. There is no record of loot, snatching, theft, kidnapping and rape,” he added.

Responding to the Opposition’s charge, Nitish Kumar made a statement in the House that his government takes immediate action after every incident and a general trend of crime rate decline has been observed.