Violence erupts in Patna as police and Village Defense Committee clash

Patna, Mar. 16 : Violence erupted in Patna on Tuesday following a clash between police and activists of Bihar's Village Defense Committee (VDC), an umbrella body which aims to protect Bihar's remote villages from Maoists.

VDC activists staged a demonstration outside the state assembly in Patna to highlight their demand for permanent jobs while shouting anti-government slogans.

Police tried to stop the agitation by pelting the activists with stones and charging them with batons. Water-cannons were also used to stop the agitation.

The activists responded by flinging stones back at the police.

"While we were raising slogans for our demands, police started throwing stones at us and also used water-cannons on us. We all started dispersing. Nearly 200 of our activists got injured in the stone-pelting. One can see the stones lying on the streets for proof," said Lal Prasad Singh, VDC State President.

However, the Additional District magistrate of Patna, Anirudh Kumar, claimed that the activists got injured while running and not because of the pelting or baton-charging.

"These people are demanding permanent government jobs. They could have demonstrated in a peaceful manner but they did it in an ugly manner and started pelting stones. To control the agitated mob, water-cannons were used on them. No one among them got injured in baton charge. They might have got injured while running," said Kumar.

A policeman and a cameraman were injured during the clash.