Targeting the Nitish Kumar government over the daylight robbery at a Tanishq store in Bihar's Arrah, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has said the Chief Minister is "unconscious" and citizens should take care of themselves and their families and not expect anything from the administration.
Sharing a video of the robbery, during which ornaments worth Rs 25 crore were stolen in 17 minutes, Mr Yadav launched an attack laced with sarcasm. He said Bihar was a "media-proven" and "RSS-certified" Ram Rajya -- an expression used to refer to an ideally governed state. Mr Yadav noted that the robbery took place close to a police station and the police superintendent's residence.
"Every day, hundreds of shots are fired in Bihar. On average, hundreds of murders take place every month. There is no record of robbery, snatching, thefts, kidnappings and rapes," Mr Yadav said.
"The Chief Minister is unconscious. Administrative chaos is everywhere. The corrupt and goons are running the government. You take care of yourself and your families. Traders, take care of your life and property on your own. Expecting anything from his corrupt and useless government is cheating yourself," he said.
Manoj Kumar, a guard, told news agency IANS that the robbers struck shortly after the store opened yesterday. "Six criminals arrived in a car, parking it across the street. As per showroom policy, we do not allow groups of more than four to enter at once, so we permitted them entry in pairs. When the sixth person arrived, he held a pistol to my head, snatched my weapon, and assaulted me. Then, they started filling their bags with jewellery," he said.
Bhojpur police later said they caught two accused Vishal Gupta and Kunal Kumar when they tried to escape a police check in the wake of the robbery. Some jewellery stolen from the showroom has been recovered from them, police said in a statement.
