Government Orders Probe Into Gang’s Chopping Of India Girl’s Arm

Uzma Ara, whose arm was chopped by criminals, in her hospital bed in Patna.
Uzma Ara, whose arm was chopped by criminals, in her hospital bed in Patna.

The Janata Dal (United) government headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar Sate of India on Monday ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the brutal chopping off of eight-year-old girl’s Uzma Ara’s arm by a gang in the state.

Ara is the prime witness in the alleged kidnapping of her brother. The girl is currently admitted at a government hospital in Patna, battling for her life.

The government ordered the inquiry after the girl’s mother, Nasreen Khatoon, approached the chief minister at his weekly Janata Durbar on Monday and asked for justice.

The family had come to Patna on Thursday night to meet the DGP when some criminals allegedly attacked the girl with a sword and chopped off her arm. The family allege that the criminals attacked her in a bid to kill her as she is the lone witness in the kidnapping of her four-year-old brother who is yet to be rescued.

After listening to the mother’s appeal, the chief minister referred her case to State Director-General of Police Abhayannad, who later ordered a CID probe into the case.

“The investigating agency will probe the case afresh with two angles — chopping off of the girl’s arm and kidnapping of her brother,” additional Director-General (CID) A.K. Upadhyay told the media on Monday.

The development follows mounting criticism of the state government by the opposition for its failure to look into her case and provide justice to the victim’s family.

The family said what was shocking for them was the way the local police treated their case, saying the girl might have lost her arm in a train accident.

The handling of the case evoked sharp reactions from all quarters, while the opposition parties termed the police’s actions as an attempt to save the criminals and hush up the case.

“There is a total collapse of law and order situation in Bihar as the chief minister is now rather more preoccupied with managing the number of lawmakers [needed] to run his government after the split in the National Democratic Alliance,” Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain alleged.

Hussain took another swipe at Kumar who, in an oblique reference to his arch-rival Narendra Modi, had earlier said “At times, we need to have a mark on our forehead, at times we need to wear skull cap”.

Hussain said the chief minister needed to be sensitive towards minority groups, rather than just “wearing a skull cap on his head”.