At least seven policemen and six students were injured here in brick-batting and police lathicharge on dalit students protesting against the lowering of scholarship amount for SC and ST students.
The students resorted to violence near JP Roundabout by throwing bricks on policemen in which an inspector and six constables were injured, senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaj said.
He said six students had been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) with minor injuries.
The SC & ST students from across the state were taking out a march to the state legislative assembly to protest the lowering of scholarship amount for dalit students in Bihar.
The incident echoed in the legislative assembly as well as in the legislative council with BJP-led NDA vociferously raising the issue to attack the Nitish Kumar government.
In the assembly, leader of Opposition Prem Kumar, former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party leader Lallan Paswan and others protested the police lathicharge on dalit students.
BJP member Sanjay Mayukh raised the issue in the council.
Later, prominent leaders including Sushil Kumar Modi, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Prem Kumar, Paswan, Arun Sinha visited PMCH to see the condition of the injured students.
Paswan alleged that the police resorted to lathicharge on the students who were peacefully taking out the protest-march.
Later, Modi attacked the grand secular alliance over the
incident.
In a press statement, he said the dalit students were protesting against Bihar government's lowering of post-matriculation scholarship from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15,000 when the police baton-charged them.
Modi said the NDA would strongly raise the issue in both Houses of the state legislature tomorrow and seek reply from the state government.
He demanded that policemen raining lathis on agitating students be punished.
"Due to lowering of post matriculation scholarship for SC & ST students from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15,000 annually, many such students have to return home from professional institutions outside," Modi said.
Police lathicharge on dalit students was also condemned by Congress leader Ashok Kumar.
"It's an unfortunate incident. Police lathicharge on dalit students cannot be justified. A probe should be conducted and guilty policemen should be punished," the senior legislator of Congress, which is a partner in the grand secular alliance, told
