Patna, Apr 20 (PTI) Union Minister Nityanand Rai has accused the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar of "failing" to maintain the law and order situation in the state, claiming that incidents of murder, rape and abduction have "increased manifold" under the current 'Mahagathbandhan' regime.

He also alleged that the grand alliance government in the state is "providing shelters to criminals".

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“The state has witnessed 4,848 incidents of serious crime in the last seven months. The Bihar government led by Nitish and Tejashwi Yadav (RJD leader and deputy CM) came to power in August 2022, since then the state has witnessed 2,070 murders, 345 cases of rape, 144 abductions and more than 700 cases of attempted murder… incidents of murder, rape and abduction have increased manifold in the state, but the Nitish-Tejashwi led government has turned a deaf ear," Rai, the minister of state for home affairs, said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Notably, Kumar dumped the BJP in August last year and formed the 'Mahagathbandhan' government in the state.

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Rai, the BJP leader, alleged that criminals are "roaming free under the current regime" in the state.

"The state government has miserably failed to maintain the law and order situation in the state. The BJP will make a crime-free Bihar after the 2025 assembly polls, " Rai, the Ujiyarpur MP, said.

Reacting to his allegations, senior RJD leader and party's spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, “BJP leaders have no moral right to comment on the law and order situation in opposition-ruled states. People are being killed in police custody in the BJP-ruled states. The Mahagathbandhan government has established rule of law in Bihar”.

The RJD leader was apparently referring to the murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf in UP.

The brothers, both jailed in Prayagraj, were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on April 15, while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college for a checkup.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)