Ranvir Sena was a terror in central and southern Bihar during the 1990s when Brahmeshwar's gang of heavily armed men routinely carried out the massacre of the landless, who were mostly Dalits supported by the Maoists. The Sena was formed by the land owning caste of Bhumihars to take on the well-armed Maoists and Brahmeshwar, popularly known as Mukhiyaji, was its hatchet man.
His killing has led to fears of another round of caste wars in the state and as his supporters went on a rampage, it added credence to the theory that Bihar can never get rid of its caste-based politics. His supporters have alleged that Brahmeshwar was killed by the Maoists to avenge the massacres carried out by Ranvir Sena.
Caste wars of Bihar also have a class angle to it with the landlords on one side and the landless peasantry on the other. While the former was supported by its own private militias, the landless labourer took the help of the Maoists.
In the 1990s the Maoists in Bihar belonged to primarily two major groups – CPI (Marxist-Leninist) (Party Unity) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), and they were involved in internecine class and caste wars with the private armies of the landlords in several districts of the state.
With deteriorating law and order, prevalent environment of corruption and lack of development under the Lalu-Rabri regime, the private armies as well as the Maoists found a fertile ground to grow.
Caste wars, massacres and mindless killings were the norm with neither the private armies most noticeably the Ranvir Sena, nor the Maoists ready to back off from any confrontation. Their existence was in no small measure helped by a pliant government and a demoralised and ill-equipped police force.
As the Lalu–Rabri regime tuned a blind eye towards the deteriorating law and order and caste wars, the conflict took monstrous proportions. Ranvir Sena also enjoyed political patronage from the some parties and prominent leaders, severely hampering the state agencies from taking a strong action against it.
But when Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) in alliance with the BJP took over as the Chief Minister of Bihar after ending the 15-year long Lalu-Rabri rule, caste wars declined. Slowly the private militias disappeared or went underground even as the Maoist groups came under one umbrella.
Nitish Kumar got the credit for the vastly improved law and order in Bihar, and the almost complete absence of caste conflicts and massacres although Brahmeshwar had already been arrested in 2002 in Patna.
The Ranvi Sena chief spent almost nine years in jail and was released on bail in 2011. In April 2012, he got a huge reprieve when the Patna High Court ruled that Brahmeshwar's role in the massacres could not be proved.
However, his joy was short-lived as the man who lived the life of a rebel was gunned down by unidentified men as he came out of his house for a stroll early on June 1. Brahmeshwar had already outlived his utility for the power brokers, and those who had politically and financially supported the now-defunct Ranvir Sena.
Moreover, the present Bihar government in the course of its seven-year rule has tried its best and succeeded to some extent in pushing caste to the background and putting development as the main criteria during an election.
Just before the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections there was a conspiracy hatched by some Janata Dal (United) MPs, MLAs and leaders from the forward castes to try and rock the boat because Nitish Kumar's pro-Dalit and backwards caste policies were not to their liking.
In 2009 Nitish Kumar had categorically ruled out implementing the recommendations of the D Bandyopadhyaya Commission, which was constituted to suggest land reforms measures in the predominantly-agrarian Bihar.
As soon as the news of the Bandyopadhyaya Commission finalising its report came, landowners support by many MPs and MLAs started raising their voice against it, fearing that they would be forced to party ways with excessive land under their ownership.
But, the Bihar Chief Minister sensing the deep caste fissures in the state decided against implementing the report, dousing the simmering revolt.
After the Nitish tsunami swept Bihar giving the JD(U)-BJP alliance an overwhelming majority in the state Assembly, the detractors were sidelined by the Chief Minister, who continued with his social reengineering.
But till date the Nitish Kumar government has failed to woo large-scale investments and generate skilled jobs, resulting in growing disenchantment among the people of Bihar. The extremely critical power situation, poor infrastructure even after the spectacular improvement in the condition of the roads, and the lack of skilled manpower last few months have all contributed to the low levels of investment.
Even Nitish had to face the ire of the people due to the poor power situation and to compound his woes the last few months have seen a small but steady rise in Bihar's crime graph, giving his rivals the much-needed stick to beat the state government with.
Now Brahmeshwar's murder has become a rallying point for JD(U)-BJP rivals like Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan and the Congress, which is almost non-existent in the state.
The extremely brazen method of Brahmeshwar's killing has thrown the state government and the police force into a tizzy with no definite clues emerging till now about the motive even though the Ranvir Sena chief's family has alleged that Sunil Pandey, a MLA of the ruling party, is behind the gruesome act.
Bihar Police has already detained a close aide of Pandey from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and have also provided security to Brahmeshwar's family members. Nitish Kumar has also ordered an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the murder.
Gyaneshwar Vatsyayan, a Patna-based senior journalist, called Nitish Kumar's move of ordering CBI probe into the murder as killing two birds with one stone. He said that with the CBI in charge, Nitish can not only avoid the allegation of influencing the investigation but also take a swift and strong action those involved in the murder even if they belong to his party.
Rubbishing allegations that Maoists were behind the murder Gyaneshwar said, "He was killed by his supporters. Maoists and Naxals are not involved in this murder. The Maoists are very quick to claim credit for any killing by littering and pasting their posters at the site. No such thing has happened after Brahmeshwar's killing."
Senior Bihar Police officials that IBNLive spoke to also confirmed the theory, saying that eliminating Brahmeshwar would not have helped the Maoists in any way and more over the Red ultras are not known to hide after carrying out a retaliatory killing, but always come out in the open to take credit for it.
Police and Gyaneshwar also justified police inaction against the mob indulging in violence during Brahmeshwar's funeral procession. They point out that the target of the mob was government property and vehicles, and a strong action would have only played into the hands of the mischief makers.
"The mob was allowed to vent its ire and let out the pent up anger. Any action by the police like firing would have resulted in casualties, leading to polarisation and become a bigger problem," said Gyaneshwar.
Ruling out a caste angle in the murder, many JD(U) leaders claim that the killing has given a common platform to Nitish's rivals and they are busy plotting their moves to make life tough for the Chief Minister, who is immensely popular.
Nitish Kumar has been basking in the glory of the stupendous growth rate in Bihar's GDP even though it has failed to set up large industries. But the road ahead for his government is only going to get tough as people's expectations rise.
Already Bihar Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Minister and BJP MLA Giriraj Singh has gone on record comparing Brahmeshwar to Mahatma Gandhi and if the state administration does not take immediate steps to contain the aftermath, it would be faced with a very daunting task.
The Bihar Chief Minister has till now been restrained and not made any unnecessary statement, but he also needs to act fast to expedite the development and social programmes to make sure that things don't spiral out of control in a politically charged environment as the state has only recently started to value economic progress must more than caste.
Despite the double-digit growth rate over the past few years, Bihar is still several years behind the more developed states of India and could very well return to the dark days of lawlessness. If this happens than Bihar can very well bid goodbye to the dream of becoming the leading light of the country once again.
Ranvir Sena chief's killing forces Nitish to postpone Seva Yatra
On the defensive for the first time in his seven-year reign, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has put off his visit to Bhojpur in view of the volatile situation arising out of the recent killing of the Ranvir Sena founder Brahmeshar Singh Mukkhiya in the district.
Nitish was scheduled to visit Bhojpur on a two-day trip from Thursday as part of his ongoing Seva Yatra, his statewide tour to get a feedback of the people on the various welfare schemes launched by his government. But he was forced to defer his visit in view of the killing of Mukhiya, who was gunned down in Ara last Friday.
"The Bhojpur administration is not prepared for the visit because of the recent incidents," Nitish said. "Moreover, the purpose of the Seva Yatra for which it has been launched would not be served under the present circumstances. I have, therefore, decided to defer my Seva Yatra which could be organised after the monsoon season."
Nitish took the decision after a marathon meeting in Patna on Wednesday with the senior officials of the state during which the security aspect of the chief minister's proposed visit to Ara were discussed.
Nitish also announced that the state government had decided to recommend a CBI inquiry into the killing of the former Ranvir Sena chief. The CM, who held a meeting with chief secretary Navin Kumar, director-general of police Abhayanand and home secretary Amir Subhani to take stock of the latest situation, said that he had directed the officials to complete all formalities regarding the recommendation for the CBI probe.
"The DGP and other senior officials will meet the CBI director soon so that the investigating agency takes over the case at the earliest," he said.
Nitish added that the DGP had met the kin of Brahmeshwar Singh on the day of his killing and the government had subsequently set up a special investigation team (SIT), which was probing the case in a scientific manner. "But in view of the demand for a CBI probe later by Singh's family, the government had decided to hand over the case to the central investigating agency," he said.
Well-placed sources said that the intelligence agencies had cautioned officials about possible protests against the chief minister during his visit to Bhojpur. Ara, as a matter of fact, had witnessed widespread violence in the wake of the killing of Mukhiya, whose supporters had run amok in the town, setting ablaze government buildings and damaging railway property. Ranvir Sena supporters had also set on fire the local circuit house where Nitish was supposed to stay during his stay in Ara.
Widespread arson and vandalism was also witnessed during Mukhiya's funeral on Saturday when Ranvir Sena supporters accompanying his cortege went on the rampage all the way from Ara to Patna, where he was cremated. They were shouting slogans against the Bihar government in particular and Nitish in general.
An administrative official said that the situation was not at all appropriate for the chief minister's visit to the region at the moment. Recently, the chief minister's carcade was stoned during his Seva Yatra in the nearby Buxar district.
The Nitish government had attracted scathing criticism for the way the state police handled the post-murder situation, taking virtually no action against the marauders during Mukhiya's funeral. The CM himself was away in Bhagalpur and Kishanganj on his Seva Yatra while Ranvir Sena supporters were creating nuisance on the streets of Patna with impunity, despite police presence.
This had prompted Governor Debanand Konwar to summon Nitish on Wednesday. The chief minister visited Raj Bhawan in the evening to apparently apprise the Governor about the situation. Konwar had earlier sought reports on the killing as well as the alleged police inaction from the state government, but he was reportedly not happy with them.
Meanwhile, the special investigation team arrested one person, said to be a close associate of the bahubali JD-U legislator Sunil Pandey, from Jamshedpur on Tuesday night in connection with the murder of Mukhiya. The SIT also raided the house of another aide of the legislator in Bhojpur on Wednesday to make a breakthrough in the case.
