Tejashwi detained during march against AK-47 use by police

Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Wednesday, along with hundreds of supporters, braved water cannons during a protest march from JP roundabout to Lok Bhawan before being detained by the police at the Income Tax roundabout

Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Wednesday, along with hundreds of supporters, braved water cannons during a protest march from JP roundabout to Lok Bhawan before being detained by the police at the Income Tax roundabout.

Police detain RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav during a protest march towards the Bihar Lok Bhawan in Patna, Wednesday. (SANTOSH KUMAR/HT)

The march was taken out by the RJD to protest the police firing at student demonstrators in Siwan on July 25 and demand for action against officials responsible for use of AK-47 assault rifle by a cop during the police firing on student demonstrators.

The other demands included check on corruption in key competitive exams including NEET and better education system. A delegation of the party later submitted a memorandum to Deepak Kumar, principal secretary to Governor Syed Ata Hasnain.

Yadav was bundled into a police van, along with key aides like Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav, and the vehicle took them to an undisclosed location. SSP Kartikeya K Sharma confirmed that Tejashwi Yadav was detained.

“We are not afraid of going to jail. We will continue to raise issues of students and burning issues of the state . This government is using suppressive measures to silence the Opposition. The government is scared of us,” Yadav told reporters soon after he was detained.

The former deputy CM and his supporters stood waving the tricolour, undeterred by water cannons used by the police. Some of them also carried dummies of the AK-47 rifle. “These tactics are not going to dampen our spirit. We will make the government see reason and listen to the voice of the students,” he added.

“We are staging this march to bring all these aspects to the notice of the governor,” RJD MP Manoj Jha said

“The government is pushing the future of students into darkness. Exam papers are getting leaked frequently,” he alleged, while being put inside a police van. RJD leader and Patliputra MP Misa Bharti, who also participated in the march, said the government having just transferred the SP Siwan on August 18 and suspended the constable who used the assault rifle on student demonstrators in Siwan was just an eyewash.

“Why action has not been taken against those responsible for the use of AK-47 on student demonstrators?Suspending or transferring some officers does not absolve the government of the way police used brutal methods against student demonstrators,” said Misa.

Bihar government on August 17 and 18 carried out administrative reshuffle to transfer the DM and SP of Siwan. The constable who used the rifle on student demonstrators was suspended a few weeks back.

Earlier, the RJD’s protest march started from the JP roundabout near Gandhi Maidan before noon and traversed its way towards the Dak Bungalow roundabout where there was a clash between party supporters and police, who had put barricades at different points.

Meanwhile, SDM (Patna Sadar) Kritika urged the agitators to show respect to the national flag during the march. “It is being observed here that several people are holding the national flag upside down. Under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, disrespecting the tricolour is unconstitutional and punishable,” she said.

BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi claimed the RJD march was a ‘flop show’ and organised to “save the career” of Tejashwi Yadav. “Yadav is trying to play politics around an issue that the Bihar government has already solved,” Saraogi asserted.

He said the government had already made provisions for a hefty fine of ₹1 crore and provided for up to eight years of imprisonment in cases of paper leak incidents through a law passed in Assembly.

“Tejashwi Yadav was on a foreign trip when the Bill was passed. If he were present in the House, he could have given some healthy suggestions. The people of Bihar are watching everything,” Saraogi said.

( with inputs from agencies)