Bihar bandh turns violent, thousands held

PATNA, March 23: Stray incidents of violence marked the 12-hour Bihar bandh today called to press for the resignation of the Rabri Devi Government in the wake of the Jehanabad massacre.

Over 2,200 BJP-Samata activists, including BJP state chief Nand Kishore Yadav, state Samata Party president Raghunath Jha, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Sushil Kumar Modi, three MPs and a number of MLAs were rounded up by police while trying to enforce the shutdown, Bihar Home Secretary R K Singh said. A few incidents of scuffle, stone-throwing and damage to vehicles were reported during the dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the BJP-Samata combine.

Singh said the three MPs rounded up are C P Thakur, Anand Mohan and Prabash Chandra Tiwari. Trains were detained at Bhagalpur, Begusarai and Nawada stations, he said, adding train services were also disrupted on Barauni-Sonepur section of East Central railway.