Several injured as Bihar Police lathi-charge farm law protesters during march on Patna's Raj Bhavan

Several people were injured in a lathi-charge by Bihar Police during a march on Patna’s Raj Bhavan, PTI reported. Earlier Tuesday, thousands of protesters from various farmers organisations and pro-Left outfits marched on Raj Bhavan in Bihar’s Patna to demand the scrapping of the agriculture laws.

केंद्र सरकार की किसान विरोधी कृषि कानून को वापस लेने की मांग को लेकर #राजभवन_मार्च। pic.twitter.com/m03bezD28i

— CPI(M) Bihar State Committee (@biharcpim) December 29, 2020

According to PTI, several were injured in a lathi-charge at a busy crossing in the heart of Patna when police personnel tried to halt the demonstrators. Traffic was thrown out of gear as thousands of protesters marched through Frazer Road before they were thwarted at the Dak Bungalow crossing. According to police, the crackdown at Dak Bungalow crossing was preceded by skirmishes between the demonstrators and police and administrative officials at the Gandhi Maidan, the starting point of the rally, where the protesters took exception to their entry being allowed inside the sprawling public ground only through one of the many gates. Police sources said the restriction was put in place to avoid a stampede-like situation. The demonstrators alleged that it was an attempt to suppress their voice. Later, when they reached the Dak Bungalow crossing, about a kilometre and a half away, officials deployed there told the demonstrators that their march could not be allowed beyond that point. As the demonstrators insisted on walking right up to the Raj Bhavan, some three kilometres away, the police used force to prevent their march towards the restricted VIP area. An unspecified number of injured protesters were taken to hospitals for treatment while a few were rounded up, the police said. There was heavy deployment of force at Dak Bungalow crossing, where some of the demonstrators sought to stand their ground raising slogans, the police added. Meanwhile, the Tikri and Singhu borders of Delhi remained shut on Tuesday as thousands of farmers continued to block highways in giant demonstrations against the new agricultural legislation. The protesters believe that the new laws will dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the ‘mercy’ of big corporations. However, the Centre is resolute on its statement that the new laws will open doors of opportunities for farmers and usher in new technologies in agriculture. With inputs from PTI