A day after a Bihar Minister’s son allegedly opened fire at some children playing cricket in his orchard and later thrashed by villagers, an FIR was lodged against him and six others on Monday at the town police station in Bettiah of West Champaran district. The Minister and his son, though, refused that he had opened fire in which a village youth sustained injuries.
Bablu Kumar, son of Tourism Minister and BJP MLA from Nautan in West Champaran district Narayan Prasad Sah, allegedly opened fire on Sunday to scare away some children playing cricket in his orchard at Hardiya-Koeritola village in the district. Mr. Bablu Kumar had reached the orchard along with his uncle Harendra Prasad Sah and five others. On hearing the gunshot, villagers gathered at the spot and chased away the Minister’s son and others. They got hold of him and some others, snatched the gun, seized their vehicle and thrashed them.
In a video of the incident which has gone viral on social media, few villagers could be seen throwing stones at fleeing men, including the Minister’s son.
“An FIR was lodged at the town police station against seven persons, including Mr. Bablu Kumar. A Special Investigation Team led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police has been constituted to probe the incident and the guilty will not be spared”, a senior police official in Patna told The Hindu. Reena Devi, mother of the youth Janardan Kumar who was injured in the incident, had filed a complaint against them, the police officer added. The police later seized the gun and the vehicle from the villagers.
‘False, fabricated’
Mr. Narayan Prasad Sah, however, told media persons that all accusations against his son and others were “false and fabricated”. “My son along with others had gone to the orchard after being informed about encroachment but the villagers at the spot chased them away and threw bricks at them, leaving them injured. A village youth got injured in the bricks thrown by the villagers themselves”, said Mr. Narayan Prasad Sah. He refuted that his son had fired or had beaten anyone there. “It was a political conspiracy to defame me”, the Minister said. Mr. Bablu Kumar too denied that he had fired from the gun or had beaten anyone with the butt as claimed by the mother of the injured youth. “It was all false accusations against me and others”, he said.
However, Ms. Reena Devi said her son was beaten by Mr. Bablu Kumar with the butt of the gun and got injured.
