For a state where a bank was looted every day, Bihar needed a panacea. In just about 100 days Nitish Kumar had been at the helm, there were 141 kidnappings and 400 murders, forcing the CM to devise something out of the box.
Maybe Do Ankhe Barah Haath provided the inspiration behind Nitish’s novel idea. "If a criminal wants to surrender we should encourage him and should modify laws to accommodate him." In his carrot and stick approach, Nitish outlined the options criminals had: surrender or wait for next swoop by the cops.
Under the scheme, a rehabilitation package pegged at Rs 2 lakh -- pooled in by the state and easy bank loans -- was mooted. The Government said it planned to finance the primary education of the children of those who would surrender. Rates were fixed for giving away different kinds of firearms: 25,000 for rocket launchers, 15,000 for AK-47, 3,000 for pistols, etc. Criminals who were to surrender were to receive 10,000 each and get an extra monthly pension of 3,000. But there was not to be any escape from law -- court proceedings were to go on.
The move was aimed at fugitives tired of playing hide and seek with equally troubled cops. Though considered a bold step to check the growing crime graph in the state, it got its share of boos. "Commit crime and surrender - and get a 3,000 rupees salary from the government!" someone mocked.
But by May 2006 Nitish had scored a first big success. In one of the biggest surrender ceremony in India, nearly 200 hardened criminals and notorious gangsters laid their arms before him. Not since the days of JP had Bihar seen anything like this.
Comments
0 comment