Bihar BJP leader killed in police lathicharge in Patna, alleges party; Admin says 'no injury marks'

The deceased leader was identified as Vijay Kumar Singh, the BJP's Jehanabad District General Secretary. Singh died at Dakbangla Chauraha in the city amid ongoing protests as police rains batons on the protestors injuring several of them including the victim.

Patna:A Bihar BJP leader was killed as police in Patna lathi-charged those protesting against the state government over the posting of teachers in the state, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi said on Thursday.

The deceased leader, according to Modi, was identified as Vijay Kumar Singh, the BJP's Jehanabad District General Secretary. Singh died at Dakbangla Chauraha in the city amid ongoing protests as police rains batons on the protestors injuring several of them including the victim. Singh was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Sushil Modi announced Singh's death on Twitter. "Arrested by Bihar police in Patna. Jehanabad dist GS Vijay Kumar Singh died in brutal police lathi charge," Modi tweeted. The saffron party workers and leaders were carrying out a protest in the capital city against the recent teacher recruitment. As soon as the BJP started its march from Gandhi Maidan to the Vidhan Sabha, the police lathi-charged them at the Dak Bungalow square.

While the saffron party alleged Singh succumbed to injuries suffered in a "brutal" lathi charge by the police, the local administration issued a quick rebuttal. In a statement, the Patna district administration said Vijay Kumar Singh, a resident of Jehanabad district, was "found unconscious by the roadside". "No injury marks have been found," said the statement adding that Singh has been taken to PMCH, the state's largest government hospital.

Earlier, to quell the protest, police burst tear gas shells and used water canons to disperse thousands of BJP workers, including senior leaders, who tried to march towards the Bihar Vidhan Sabha in protest against the Nitish Kumar government's teacher recruitment policy. Before the march commenced at the historic Gandhi Maidan, state BJP president Samrat Choudhary told reporters that the opposition party was holding to account the government, especially Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who had promised "10 lakh jobs".

BJP workers, many of them wearing saffron kurtas, saris, salwar suits and bandanas, walked waving the party flag while some were perched atop a "prachar rath" (campaign vehicle). Slogans like "Nitish Tejashwi istifa do" (Nitish Kumar must resign) rent the air as the procession covered a distance of about a kilometre until it encountered barricades put up at the Dak Bungalow crossing.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra said, "We have deployed extra forces at all sensitive points and barricades and where necessary traffic has been diverted to alternative routes." Notably, the Dak Bungalow crossing is situated around two kilometres from the Vidhan Sabha and, normally, processions are not allowed beyond the point.

When some of the agitators tried to cross the barricade, police resorted to the use of force and firing of tear gas shells, besides water canons, sending the BJP workers scampering. The opposition party has sought to lend its support to teaching job aspirants who are resenting the "no domicile" policy of recruitment, among other things.

The government, however, has made it clear that the policy was there to stay pointing out that no state, which has sought to reserve seats for its own residents, has been able to withstand judicial scrutiny. The opposition party is also backing the demand of "niyojit" (non-commissioned) teachers that they be recognised and it has alleged that teaching staff's leaves have been cancelled to ensure that they do not join the stir.