Congress rally in Patna stopped midway, cops use tear gas to disperse workers

According to Congress spokesperson Premchand Mishra, as soon as the party leaders and workers reached the Hartali More, the police started raining batons.

A protest by the Bihar Congress unit against the policies of Central government turned violent on Sunday as the protesters tried to breach the barricading in place to head towards the chief minister’s residence and Raj Bhavan and the police had to use water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse them.

Police personnel use water cannons to disperse Congress workers during a rally in Patna, Bihar, on Sunday. (Santosh Kumar/HT photo)

The “Janvedna March”, led by party’s Bihar incharge Shaktisinh Gohil, started from state Congress headquarters at Sadaqat Ashram in Patna, Bihar, and as it reached Hartali Chowk, the Congress leaders tried to breach the barricading in place and head towards the restricted zone housing the chief minister and other the state assembly. The police tried to stop the protesting leaders from entering the restricted zone, which agitated the leaders and a tussle ensued. The police had to lob tear gas shells and fire water cannons to disperse the agitated workers, some of which were detained for a few hours.

According to Congress spokesperson Premchand Mishra, as soon as the party leaders and workers reached the Hartali More, the police started raining batons. “The police also used tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse the party workers.”

City Superintendent of Police, central, Vinay Tiwary said the police had to resort to mild lathicharge and use water cannons on Congress workers when they turned violent after being stopped at Hartali roundabout. “There was no administrative permission given for the rally,” he said, adding that the area where the rally was stopped fell in the high security region.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi later tweeted: “As there is a zero tolerance government on corruption at the centre and in Bihar, Congress is desperate and making all sorts of accusations against the central government policies. But people have rejected them,” he said.