Patna
Police in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are conducting raids to nab three brothers named after two Asian countries and a prominent Indian state for assaulting a policeman during Holi, the Hindu festival of colours.
Pakistan, Japan Kumar Rocket and Kashmir — the three brothers from Chankar village in Palamu district of Jharkhand — went into hiding soon after the police registered a case on Tuesday after receiving a complaint of assault.
Trouble broke out after the trio soaked the policeman identified as Akhilesh Kumar with colours and also tore apart his clothes — a practice prevalent in remote villages of Jharkhand and Bihar. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad too is known for celebrating “Kurta-phaad” (tearing of clothes) Holi although he didn’t celebrate the festival this time following the crushing defeat of the secular alliance in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
The said cop posted with the Pipra police station had come to his close relative when he had his police uniform torn into pieces. This led to verbal duel between them after which the three brothers badly assaulted the cop. Reports said the angry brothers also shot the cop in his right arm after the scuffle turned violent.
The victim cop was immediately rushed to a local primary health centre from where he was referred to Daltonganj town hospital for better treatment. His condition is said to be stable now.
“We have registered a case and are conducting raids to nab the absconding accused persons,” the local Palamu district superintendent of police Indrajeet Mahatha told the media today. According to Mahatha, he had also suspended the policeman for abstaining from duty during Holi when the leaves of all policemen stood cancelled to help them maintain law and order.
More than the case, what has amused the police are the names of the accused persons named after two countries and an Indian city. “It was interesting to register country namesakes as accused in the case. I had not come across such incidents in my whole lifetime,” remarked a policeman.
It’s common for villagers to name their children after some Indian cities and deities but this is the first time one has seen someone being named after countries.
Earlier, the activists from a hardline Hindu nationalist group Bajrang Dal had named a puppy “George Bush” as a befitting reply to former US president naming his family cat “India”. Bush’s family’s 18-year-old cat died in 2009.
