Patna: Activists of Left-wing organisations clashed with police at Dak Bungalow Crossing in Patna on Tuesday afternoon during a protest against the alleged rise in crimes against women in Bihar.
Members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) took out a march from Gandhi Maidan towards the Bihar Assembly, where the Budget Session is underway. The protesters were planning to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but were stopped by police near Dak Bungalow Crossing.
Police said the demonstrators gathered at the crossing, disrupted traffic movement and attempted to breach barricades. SP (Central) Bhanu Pratap Singh said mild force was used to disperse the protesters after they refused to clear the road, adding that no lathi-charge was carried out. He said the memorandum was submitted to the competent authority at the spot.
CPI (ML) Liberation MLA Sandeep Sourav, who was among the demonstrators, alleged that crimes against women had increased sharply in the state after the Assembly elections. He said female students, working women and girls were unsafe in Bihar, blaming what he described as a failure of the law-and-order and women’s safety mechanisms.
Accusing the NDA government of patronizing criminals, Sourav alleged that the Chief Minister had failed to take action against those accused in cases of violence against women. He claimed the government was more focused on suppressing cases and protecting influential individuals than on preventing crime.
Referring to the recent death of a NEET aspirant in Patna, the MLA demanded a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court or the Supreme Court, alleging that the CBI inquiry ordered in the case was intended to shield the accused.
The NEET aspirant, a native of Jehanabad district, was found unconscious at a private hostel in Patna’s Chitragupt Nagar on January 6 and died at a private hospital on January 11 after remaining in a coma for several days. Her family alleged sexual assault and accused authorities of attempting a cover-up. Police later arrested a hostel employee in connection with the case.
In their memorandum, the Left-wing groups said the police handling of the case had “shocked Bihar”. They also cited the recent rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Darbhanga district, saying the incident showed that even young girls were unsafe in the state.
The organisations further referred to a recent rape of a student in Buxar and an incident in Aurangabad district last month in which four Mahadalit students allegedly died by suicide after consuming poison, and demanded urgent action to ensure women’s safety in Bihar.
