The Bihar Police on Wednesday lathi-charged and used water cannons to disperse protesters who put up rail and road blockades in support of the Bharat Bandh over community-based reservation.
Protesters disrupted train services at Darbhanga and Buxar railway stations and blocked traffic in Patna, Hajipur, Darbhanga, Jehanabad, Purnea, Katihar, Muzaffarpur and Begusarai districts following which police baton-charged to quell them.
In Patna, police chased away crowds who blocked traffic at Dak Bungalow Chowk and inadvertently hit the Sadar-Patna sub-divisional officer (SDO), who was leading the force.
"Security personnel lathicharged to disperse protestors who blocked traffic at Dak Bunglow Chowk and broke police barricades. No one was injured in the incident," Patna SSP Rajeev Mishra told PTI.
"While lathicharging protesters at Dak Bunglow Chowk, a police officer inadvertently hit the Sadar-Patna SDO. It was a human error as the officer did not recognise the official", Patna SSP said.
The Patna District Administration later confirmed that the incident was an honest mistake and said no disciplinary action will be taken against the police officer.
Patna police registered three FIRs and arrested nine persons for allegedly taking law into their hands during the protests, a statement by Patna district administration said.
In Jehanabad district, clashes occurred between protesters and security personnel on National Highway-83 near Unta Chowk, leading to the detention of five persons.
In other districts, including Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Begusarai, Hajipur, and Purnea and Katihar, protesters attempted to block traffic and burned tyres, but were quickly dispersed by security forces.
At Darbhanga and Buxar railway stations, a large number of protesters halted the Bihar Sampark Kranti and Farakka Express trains, following which the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and district police were deployed to clear the stations.
East Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sharswati Chandra confirmed that train services were disrupted in Ara, Chausa (Buxar), Darbhanga, Begusarai, and Rajgir, but the situation was promptly controlled.
"Crowds disrupted movement of trains at Ara, Chausa (Buxar), Darbhanga, Begusarai, Khagaria, Samastipur, Munger and Rajgir in the morning. The situation was immediately brought under control and protestors were removed from the railway tracks and stations," he said.
In Katihar, protestors gheraoed the vehicle of District Magistrate (DM), Manesh Kumar Meena, when he reached office in the morning. However, protestors were removed from there by security personnel.
Independent Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav, led demonstrations in Patna and other areas, criticising the NDA government's stance on SC/ST reservations. He claimed that the government aims to undermine reservations for SC/ST and other backward classes.
Talking to reporters in Purnea, Yadav said, "The NDA government at the Centre is against reservation to SC/ST and other extremely backward classes. The Centre wants to snatch reservations given to SC/ST and other extremely backward classes." The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other partners of the INDIA bloc extended their support to the bandh.
The Bharat Bandh was called by 21 organisations across the country in response to the Supreme Court's August 1 ruling allowing states to sub-classify Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for granting quotas within these groups. The apex court's majority verdict held that such sub-classifications are permissible to benefit more underprivileged castes within these categories.
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