PATNA: At least 18 leaders of the RJD, Congress and the Left Parties, including Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, have been booked for staging demonstration in prohibited area without permission.
Tejashwi Yadav and those from allies Congress and CPI held demonstration in front of gate number four of the Gandhi Maidan during the day in protest against the new farm laws.
An FIR was lodged against 18 named and 500 unnamed persons in this connectioin with the Gandhi Maidan police station under various sections of the IPC and the Epidemic Act, police sources said.
The FIR has been registered for allegedly violating the government orders and putting peoples lives at risk by holding demonstration near the historic Gandhi Maidan in the heart of the city, a police official said on condition of anonymity.
He said these people have violated COVID-19 norms as per which every individual has to maintain social distancing besides wearing masks and taking other preventive measures against the virus.
Besides, Tejashwi those named in the FIR included RJD leaders Shyam Rajak, Brishen Patel, Alok Mehta and Mrityunjay Tiwary, the police official said.
Some Congress and CPI leaders have also been named in the FIR, he added.
Earlier in the day,a senior Patna district administration official had said that dharna inside Gandhi Maidan is not allowed as it is a 'prohibited area'.
If any individual, political party or organisation have to hold a sit-in they can do so at Gardanibagh which has been declared as designated place to stage dharna, the official added.
Besides, the administration has to ensure that COVID-19 rules are strictly adhered, he said adding that gathering or any sort of procession, dharna are not allowed at any public place.