Violent demonstrations against the Agnipath scheme continued for the fourth straight day in Bihar, with the protesters for the first time accused of firing at the police.
But the state-wide shutdown called by the Opposition parties received a lukewarm response, with shops and offices mostly staying open.
The intensity and expanse of the violence too decreased on Saturday. The state government shut down Internet services in 18 of the 38 districts till June 20 as a safeguard against rumours and incitement. Net services were slow or interrupted in some other districts.
With trains still the principal target of the protesters, railway authorities confined services in Bihar to the night-time on Saturday and Sunday and cancelled over 325 trains.
“Trains will be operated from 8pm on Saturday to 4am on Sunday and then again from 8pm on Sunday to 4am on Monday,” East Central Railway chief PRO Virendra Kumar said.
At Taregna railway station in Patna district, protesters stoned the police, torched government vehicles, vandalised property and allegedly exchanged bullets with the cops. Eyewitnesses said over 100 rounds were fired — mostly by the police — but no injuries were reported.
Vehicles torched in Bihar’s Masaurhi on Saturday. PTI picture
“A crowd of rioters fired five to seven bullets at us. Our men fired back to protect themselves and public property. We are trying to ascertain how many rounds we fired,” Masaurhi deputy superintendent of police Vaibhav told The Telegraph.
Another large crowd assembled at Tehta in Jehanabad district, blocked roads and tracks, vandalised and torched vehicles and stoned the railway station before being beaten back by the police.
The protesters have begun uniting under fronts such as the Sena Bharti Jawan Morcha and the Rojgar Sangharsh Samyukta Morcha that have been formed over the last couple of days.
Sources said a preliminary assessment suggested the railways had lost property worth Rs 200 crore, but the figure could rise.
Tepid shutdown
Supporters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, CPIML Liberation, CPI and CPM tried to enforce the Opposition bandh, disrupting road traffic for some time at several places. Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party too joined the bandh.
In Patna, the bandh’s impact was less than expected, but several shops were closed and people stayed indoors to avoid being caught in traffic blockades or violence.
“The Bihar bandh and agitation by the youths passed peacefully, barring a few incidents, especially those at Masaurhi (Taregna) and Tehta. We registered 12 FIRs and arrested 160 people,” additional director-general (law and order) Sanjay Kumar Singh told The Telegraph.
He said conspiracy and instigation behind the violence could not be ruled out: “The agitation on the first day (Wednesday) was organised by the students. Other elements began joining them from the second day. Investigations are on.”
Coaching centres
Patna district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh alleged that several institutes that coached army job seekers could have incited the violence.
He said messages of instigation from the phone numbers of a few such institutes had been found on the mobile phones of some protesters.
Sources suggested that the coaching centres were against the Agnipath scheme for business reasons, fearing that aspiring soldiers would be unwilling to pay for coaching to secure just a four-year job.
BJP security
The Centre has announced Y-category security for 12 BJP leaders and lawmakers in Bihar, including deputy chief minister Renu Devi, state unit president Sanjay Jaiswal and MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul. They will be protected by central paramilitary forces.
In Supaul, the Sashastra Seema Bal is guarding the BJP district headquarters.
Party offices and the cars and homes of BJP leaders have been attacked by the protesters against the Agnipath scheme.
Jaiswal on Saturday accused the Bihar administration of turning a blind eye to these attacks.
“The police remained mute spectators at places like Madhepura where the BJP offices were attacked. The fire brigade refused to come on the pretext that they needed permission from sub-divisional officers,” he said.
“The administration is targeting a particular party (BJP). We are part of the ruling alliance in Bihar but are facing something that has not happened anywhere in the country.” He added threateningly: “It will not be good for anybody if such incidents are not stopped.”
Relations between ruling allies BJP and JDU have been strained for several months.
JDU national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh dismissed Jaiswal’s allegations and said they betrayed his “imbalanced state” (of mind).
“The BJP should address the spontaneous response of the youth and their fears. Instead, it is accusing the administration. What will the administration do?” he said.
“Violent agitations are happening in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere. Why not ask the police there to fire on the protesters and kill thousands of them?”
