PATNA: Police resorted to baton charge to disperse a mob of flood victims indulged in putting up road blockade, stone pelting and arson in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Friday. The authorities, however, denied the report of police firing and said that only a mild force was used to bring the situation under control.
The incident took place near Gopalpur village under the Bedaul police outpost when a group of flood victims put up road blockade and indulged in arson on the National Highway 77 connecting Sitamarhi with Muzaffarpur. The flood victims were irked over closure of community kitchen, which was started by the district administration soon after the victims were evacuated to safer places.
The road blockade led to traffic jam on the busy road. A police team attached to the Bedaul police outpost rushed to the spot to remove the blockade. Initially, the police tried to convince the protestors but in vain. The situation, however, turned worse when police used force to lift the road blockade. The protestors later pelted stones at the police team, which had to retreat to save their lives.
Additional reinforcement was requisitioned from the district headquarters as the situation was going out of control. The protestors were not in a mood to relent. The police resorted to lathicharge and opened four rounds in the air to disperse the unruly mob. Though nobody was injured in the police firing, a police officer sustained injuries in the stone pelting.
Vidya Sagar, superintendent of police (SP), rural, Muzaffarpur, said that the police resorted to baton charge to quell the protestors indulging in stone pelting, road blockade and arson. “Now the situation is under control. An additional police force has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure,” he told this newspaper over phone.
The SP, rural, however, denied the report of police firing and said that such rumours were spread by the protestors to defame the administration. “The police-initiated action to restore traffic on the national highway as the queue of vehicles stranded on both sides of the road stretched to about five kilometres from the spot,” he added.
The locals said that the flood victims were not happy with the district authority’s decision to close community kitchen, which was started after people were evacuated to safer places after floods inundated their houses and destroyed their standing crops. Lack of fodder for their animal added fuel to the fire.
Earlier, chief minister Nitish Kumar visited Darbhanga district to take stock of the situation arising out of floods. He also visited a community kitchen run for the flood victims in the district and asked the officials concerned to ensure adequate facilities at the flood relief camps.
Later talking to media persons, Nitish said that Rs.7,000 each would be provided to the flood victims of 17 districts in the state. “I have asked the authorities concerned to deposit the amount in the bank accounts of the flood victims before Dussehra festival,” he said.
Earlier, he conduced aerial survey of the flood hit districts. At a review meeting, Nitish directed the senior officers to monitor the arrangements for flood victims at the government run relief camps on a regular basis.