Opposition parties cry foul over the list drawn up by the police. They allege that the list targets criminals only from the Muslim community and the Yadav caste. M I Khan reports.
The Bihar government has decided to confiscate the properties of notorious criminals who have accumulated wealth through illegal means, the police said on Tuesday.
"The process for it began with the preparation of a list of such notorious criminals in the state," Bihar DGP Abhyanand said.
Abhyanand, the man behind the idea, said that the move will create a sense of fear among criminals.
The government had earlier confiscated ill-gotten properties of officials and middlemen in the state.
However, the Rashtriya Janata Dal has charged the Bihar government of selectively targeting criminals from the Muslim community and the Yadav caste.
Leader of opposition in the state assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui objected to the list drawn up by the Bihar police. "Why does the list include Mohammad Shahabuddin, Ritlal Yadav, Wasim Ashraf and Kundan; why does it not include the names of Sunil Pandey, Hulas Pandey, Anant Singh, Dhumal Singh, Munna Shukhla, Suraj Bhan Singh, Akhilesh Singh," asked Siddiqui.
Sidiqqui said that the government has been trying to tarnish the image of one community and caste by projecting that notorious criminals mainly belonged to these sections.
The RJD is up in arms against the police list as criminal turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin is a former RJD MP, who is currently lodged in Siwqan jail and is facing dozens of criminal cases. Similarly, Ritlal Yadav, another notorious criminal, also in jail, is known for his political connection with the RJD.
Siddiqui targeted the government for keeping out the names of criminal turned politicians Sunil, Hulas Pandey, Anant, Dhumal Singh, Munna Shukhla -- former JD-U legislator -- and JD-U leader Akhilesh Singh, a gangster, former Lok Janshakti Party MP Suraj Bhan Singh.
All of them belong to the powerful upper caste -- Bhumihar.
