BJP seeks probe into Jamshedpur violence, release of party workers

Jamshedpur: BJP on Wednesday urged the Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan to order a probe by Central investigative agencies into the recent communal violence in Shastrinagar area under Kadma police station limit of Jamshedpur city.

A ten-member delegation led by former BJP Jharkhand President Dineshanand Goswami met the Governor in Ranchi and submitted a memorandum, appealing to him to order a probe by CBI or a High Court judge into the April 9 communal violence in Shashtrinagar here, BJP said in a statement.

They also urged the governor to release "innocent BJP and VHP workers" arrested in connection with the violence.

BJP leaders apprised the governor about the violence and said unruly mobs brick-batted the Jatadhari Shiv Mandir and triggered the violence.

Tension has been.prevailing in the area from April 8 night when the members of an Akhara committee reportedly detected a piece of meat in the Ramanavami jhanda (flag) and served 24-hour memorandum to the police to arrest culprits, install CCTV camera around the temple and remove a meat stall in the area.

The East Singhbhum administration gave assurances of looking into the demands, the statement said.

BJP leaders claimed that arrested leaders - Abhay Singh, the party in-charge of Dhanbad and former East Singhbhum district President of BJP, and Sudhansu Ojha, Vice-President of district committee of the party - had nothing to do with the violence.

The party also demanded to probe into accumulation of huge quantity of stones and bricks by unruly crowd in violence-marred area.

Apart from a Goswami, Party's General Secretary Pradip Verma, BJP Executive Committee members J B Tubid and Laxman Prasad Singh, Ex-MLA Laxman Tudu and Kadma Mandal President of BJP Rajesh Singh, among others, were part of the delegation.