When RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda met at a Ranchi hotel on May 27, the topic of discussion was law and order. Soon, Koda summoned DGP V.D. Ram and Chief Secretary A.K. Basu.

Apparently, Yadav, whose party has been an ally of the Koda-led government since 2006, said he was worried about the state’s failure in containing crime. With the Lok Sabha elections some months away, Yadav is obviously worried that the NDA would make law and order an issue.

Yadav has reasons to be worried. In the gap of two days, the state witnessed two daring crimes that remain unsolved.

On May 21, the CPI (Maoist) pulled off a daring robbery. In broad daylight, two Maoists intercepted a private security van hired by ICICI Bank on the busy National Highway 33 and hijacked it at gunpoint. Then they took the van to a forest and set it on fire. They also allegedly abducted driver Vinay Kumar Singh and looted over Rs 5 crore, besides one kg and 30 gram of gold. The cash and the gold were being transported to the Ranchi branch of ICICI from Jamshedpur. Two days later, on May 23, Anil Sharma—a murder convict and an accused in more than two dozen cases of murder, loot and ransom—escaped from police custody. Police investigations revealed that Sharma produced certificates to show that he was suffering from chest pain and was brought to Ranchi from Hazipur jail in Bihar. He was admitted to the state government-run RIMS hospital for treatment on May 10.

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