Police cane mob in Patna protesting power tariff hike
JAP supporters were trying to gherao the Bihar legislative assembly when police foiled their effort using force. Police claimed the mob resorted to stone pelting.
Police caned an unruly mob, which resorted to brickbatting, while protesting government corruption and the steep hike in Bihar power tariff.
Supporters of the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) of Rajesh Ranjan, an MP, better known as Pappu Yadav, had taken out a rally in Patna on Monday. They reportedly insisted on moving towards the Bihar legislative assembly, a prohibited zone, where the budget session is underway till March 31.
Facing resistance from the police, the mob reportedly resorted to stone pelting. The police retaliated by using force after water canon failed to quell the rampaging mob.
At least 10 JAP supporters and some cops were injured in the ding-dong battle, which continued for almost an hour near Gardanibagh locality here on Monday.
“The police had to use mild force only after the mob resorted to stone pelting,” additional superintendent of police Rakesh Dubey said. He did not rule out the possibility of an FIR being lodged against Yadav.
Yadav is also demanding a CBI inquiry into the question paper leak of the Bihar Staff Selection Commission, besides protesting officers amassing benami (anonymous) property and government doctors running private clinics.
Talking to HT, Yadav said, “We have a Talibani government, which tries to muffle any public protest using brute force. We will burn the government’s effigy tomorrow and observe black day throughout the state on April 14.”
The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) had last Friday announced a hike between 174% and 47% for rural and urban domestic consumers, respectively. Yadav has been demanding a rollback in power tariff even as the government is working out a subsidy. The hike comes into effect from April 1.
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