The Hazaribag police detained former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, father of civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha, BJP legislator Manish Jaiswal and former MLA Lok Nath Mahto together with about 200 supporters. They were detained for leading a march on the eve of Ramnavami on the Hazaribag-Barkagaon path that has been closed since 1984.
Sinha and Jaiswal confronted with the police when stopped. The BJP leaders accompanied by supporters and sympathisers were strong-minded to take the march through the same route to “solve the issue”. However, the police made preventive detention of the BJP leaders. The officials lodged them in Demotand agriculture farm and did not permit anyone to meet them that enraged the supporters.
Owing to repeated communal violence during Ramnavami in the past, Hazaribag had earned a bad name. Thus, the administration took the strict steps to keep things in control.
Negotiations were on to solve the issue. Hazaribag DC Ravi Shankar Shukla said, “We have made preventive arrests and see whether there was any cognizable offence. If so, cases will be lodged under Section 151(1) of the CrPC.”
