Working towards ensuring fear-free Bihar: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that although his government has been working towards ensuring a fear-free environment in the state, he cannot ensure crime would not happen.

Addressing the state Assembly during a debate, he said: "We have been working to establish law and order and to finish the environment of fear. We always try to achieve this target but no one can claim that crimes would not take place."

The Chief Minister claimed the incident of riots has gone down in the state but admitted that the number of killings and robberies was at the rise and a matter of concern.

Asserting that the number of crimes has dipped, he said: "If we look at the crime figures for January-May this year and compare these with the corresponding period in 2018, we find riots have gone down by 32 per cent and kidnapping cases for ransom have dipped by 44 per cent. There has also been a reduction in the incidents of burglary."

He, however, said that data shows a rise in incidents of murder and dacoity.

Kumar also expressed concern over the "growing influence of social media" at the cost of traditional media and said that unverified information and rumours shared on social networking platforms often create trouble and challenges for law and order in the state.