Don’t punish everyone for crimes of one: Nitish Kumar’s message to Gujarat

india

Updated: Oct 09, 2018 10:16 IST

The Bihar man accused of raping a baby in Gujarat should face strict action, chief minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday, stressing that there was no reason to punish other workers from Bihar.

“The person, who committed the crime, should be punished, there should be strong actions taken against him. But, people should not have such notions about others.... I would like to appeal to all the people to not have similar impressions for others on such matters,” Nitish Kumar said, according to news agency ANI.

Kumar had yesterday called up his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani amid reports of violence and threats targeting migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh after the 14-month-old baby’s rape.

Raghuvir Sahu, a ceramic factory worker from Bihar, has been arrested for the rape.

But the horrible crime had also triggered attacks on workers in Mehsana, Sabarkantha and Aravali districts since September 28.

Police officers had initially sought to deny reports that migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were apprehensive about their safety and contended that they were heading back home to be with their families during the festive season.

But there have been allegations that the workers were have been asked to leave by October 8.

On Monday, there was some acknowledgement about the ground situation.

“In the last 24 hours, the number of attacks has decreased. We appeal to people to not be frightened as we are taking appropriate actions,” Gujarat Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja said, according to news agency ANI. He said the police had already filed 35 cases and made arrests.