Raipur (Chattisgarh): A state bus was vandalised in Chattisgarh's Bemetara district early this morning during the state-wide bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other organisations of the BJP in protest against the death of a youth in communal clashes on Saturday. It was learnt that the vandalism was allegedly caused by VHP workers.
A communal clash had broken out in Bemetara's Biranpur village two days back following which a 23-year-old man, identified as Bhubaneshwar Sahu, was killed and three policeman were injured. Section 144 was imposed and a huge contingent of police was deployed in the area. Late last night, the collector held a meeting with the community leaders and appealed for peace.
During the day, heavy police forces were deployed in several parts of the state to ensure peace. Most of the shops and maket places remained closed throughout the day. A few shops that were open too were closed down by the VHP workers. Police said around 800 police personnel were deployed in Biranpur alone after clashes and violence was recorded in the area. The Kanker and Sujapur districts wore a deserted look as VHP workers urged businessmen to shut down their shops.
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Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Maheswari said an adequate number of security personnel have been deployed at all the police stations along with patrolling all the sensitive areas. This apart, police have also set up barricades in view of the 'chakka jams' that the organisation has planned in a few places. All measures are in place to disperse the crowd, said police. Earlier, BJP district president Jayanti Patel said the party supported the bandh. It has been called to protest against the death of a youth and the chaos created by the Congress-led government, he said.
