Bihar police said on Sunday that violence during Bihar Sharif’s Ram Navami procession appeared to be well planned. Prior to the festival, a WhatsApp group of 457 people was active. In this case, a plot was created through texts about Ram Navami, and a person named Kundan Kumar, the coordinator of Bajrang Dal, has surrendered as the mastermind of this social network. A separate FIR has been filed for this, and is being investigated by the Economic Crime Investigation Team, ANI reported.
Kundan Kumar, the coordinator of Bajrang Dal, has given up as the mastermind of this social network. Apart from this, a total of 15 FIRs have been registered in Bihar Sharif, in which a total of 140 arrests have been made: Jitendra Singh Gawar, ADG, Headquarters pic.twitter.com/nQp17LEJ1q
– ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2023
Five more people were arrested as part of the investigation. The EOU is also conducting a separate investigation to apprehend those who were spreading fraudulent films and messages on various social media platforms amid communal riots in Nalanda and Sasaram, it said, adding that the EOU registered its first FIR against 15 people on April 8. Five people arrested have been charged.
“EOU investigations revealed that the defendant created a WhatsApp group and used it to spread hate among people against different communities.” The defendants were also encouraging others to circulate fake video messages that disparaged various communities. The EOU also recovered five mobile phones from his possession, which are being further investigated,” said JS Gangwar, Additional Director General (ADG) of the Bihar Police (Headquarters), as quoted by PTI.
“Investigators are looking into the credentials of everyone in this group.” More arrests are expected in the coming days, according to the ADG.
Normalcy has already been restored in the cities of Nalanda and Sasaram, he added, adding that officials are also reviewing CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators. In addition, the authorities are very attentive to social networks to prevent the spread of rumors, she added.
“So far, the Bihar police have registered a total of 20 FIRs, including the most recent case filed by the EOU, to investigate the communal clashes in Nalanda and Sasaram… and more than 200 people have already been arrested,” he said. the ADG.
Fearing the seizure of their property, people accused of communal violence have started turning themselves in to the police, PTI reported, citing another senior Bihar Police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
During the Ramnavami celebrations, communal tensions broke out in Sasaram and Nalanda. The criminals stoned and shot almost a dozen people in Biharsharif, and about ten shops were destroyed. After the violence, one person died.
