The police today resorted to lathi charge to disperse agitating members of the students' wing of the Congress when they forcibly tried to reach chief minister Nitish Kumar's residence.
A procession was taken out by the National Students Union of India (NSUI) to protest against the incidents of sexual abuse of girls at a Muzaffarpur shelter home, police said.
The procession, comprising scores of NSUI workers - the students' wing of the Congress - was led by party MLA Amit Kumar Tunna, the police said.
It was taken out from the Sadaqat Ashram, the party's state headquarters, they said
Shouting slogans against the Nitish Kumar government for its alleged inaction in the matter, which has now been handed over to the CBI, the agitators reached the 'Hartali More', where barricades were put up, a police officer said.
The police lathi charged them when they tried to go past the barricade forcibly and many demonstrators, including the MLA, were injured, he said.
Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) working president Kaukab Qadri issued a statement condemning the "barbaric lathi charge which has caused grievous injuries to a number of our people, including Tunna, the NSUI state president Chunnu Singh, and its senior office bearers Shadab Khan and Ejaz Khan".
"The undemocratic suppression of a peaceful demonstration has strengthened the resolve of the Congress to oust the JD(U)-BJP alliance from power in the state which has displayed its incompetence in the horrific Muzaffarpur episode," Qadri said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Suresh Kumar said, "No arrests were made in connection with attempts by protesters to cross the barricades and proceed towards VIP locality. Minimum use of force was resorted to and those have sustained injuries are being treated at a hospital".
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