Cong, JVM Condemn the Horrific Balumath Killings of Cattle Traders

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC has been clamped in the areas under the Balumath police station.

Image used for representation purpose only. (Photo: Reuters)

Opposition Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) on Sunday lashed out at the Raghubar Das government in Jharkhand over the alleged murder of two cattle traders at Balumath in Latehar district.

While the Congress said the incident reflected the failure of the BJP led government in the state, JVM described it as bigger than the Dadri incident in UP in which one person was lynched following suspicion that he had stored beef in his refrigerator last year.

AICC spokesman Ajoy Kumar said the incident exhibited gross failure on the part of the state government as the law and order situation of the state was turning from bad to worse. Kumar condemned the way the two were murdered and hanged from a tree and demanded justice for the families of the two victims. He also asked the Centre to look into the incident.

The Horror

A 32-year-old man and a teenager were found hanging from a tree at Jhabbar under Balumath police station of Latehar district on Saturday, triggering violence that left an SDO and six policemen injured.

Stating that the killings of Balumath is bigger than the Dadri incident, JVM chief Babulal Marandi alleged that Jharkhand has become a lawless state under the BJP regime. The victims were butchered and hanged only because they were ferrying cattle though no ban was imposed on cattle ferrying or trading in the state, the former Chief Minister of the state said.

The situation has reached such an extent that the police were forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters and asking people to remain indoors after 8 pm, he said. Even the entry of people in the famous Jubilee Park in Jamshedpur, one of the most developed cities of the state, was banned after 8 pm, Marandi said.

Meanwhile, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC has been clamped in the areas under Balumath police station. The incident had triggered violence, leaving a sub-divisional officer and six policemen injured.

Read more on the incident here.