Gaya (Bihar): A viral video from Bihar's Gaya district showing men and women in handcuffs has sparked outrage. The incident took place in Ahatpur village of Belaganj police station in Gaya district on Wednesday when a clash took place between the villagers and the police who were assisting government officials who had come to demarcate a river for sand mining.
The villagers protested against the move and said it could flood the village during the rainy season. The villagers said the contractors and the police personnel started using force to drive them away which ensued into a clash.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Niranjan Kumar and Pramod Yadav, residents of the village said, "The contractors appointed for sand extraction along with police came to demarcate the river. We reached peacefully to them in order to find a solution as the extraction will cause problems for the village during the rainy season and there can be a possibility of severe floods, but the police officers and contractors used force to drive us away."
Police also fired tear gas shells, the villagers claimed. "Police fired tear gas shells at us. We ran to our houses, but they chased us to our houses and brutally thrashed us. Even the women, children and elderly people were not spared," the villagers added. They said that after thrashing them, many villagers including women were held captive with their hands cuffed and many among them were detained.
SP Rakesh Kumar said some villagers "attacked" the police party following which nine policemen were injured. He also said that villagers also attacked the magistrate on whose instance a police case was filed.
