As protests against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme intensified in Bihar, the state government has decided to suspend internet services in Kaimer, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Buxer, Nawada, West Champaran, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Vaishali and Saran districts till 19 June.
According to a new order issued by the additional chief secretary of the Bihar government, the authorities suspect that social networking and instant messaging platforms are being misused, which is likely to be detrimental to the peace and tranquillity in the districts.
In view of this, all internet service providers have been directed to stop any transmission of messages.
This comes as earlier in the day, protesters disrupted the movement of trains in various districts of Bihar.
In the Begusarai district, the agitated youth blocked the Rajbara Gumti road. The movement of trains was affected as protestors sat on the railway tracks. Protestors agitating at the Hajijpur railway station were detained.
During the agitation, a mob attacked the house of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi too.
“The large-scale violence and arson is a handiwork of goons instigated by the opposition parties. What else explains targeted attacks on BJP leaders? My house in Bettiah town was attacked. Window panes and a car parked inside got damaged. Thankfully, none of those inside was injured. Petrol pump owned by a brother of Sanjay Jaiswal (state party president) has also been vandalised,” Renu Devi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The deputy CM rued that she was planning to leave for Bettiah by helicopter to attend a number of functions, but had to put off the visit in view of the law and order situation.
In Motihari, adjoining Bettiah, the car of BJP MLA Vinay Bihari was pelted with stones.
The attack on BJP leaders comes a day after the party’s MLA Aruna Devi was injured in a stone-pelting incident at Nawada, where the party office was also torched by the rampaging mob.
The state capital, which had so far been largely untouched by the stir, witnessed some commotion as controversial former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav staged a demonstration on the Dak Bungalow crossing along with hundreds of supporters, causing huge traffic snarls.
Barely a couple of kilometres away, students staged a huge demonstration at the Kargil chowk and marched through Ashok Rajpath.
The protesters said if the government thought reducing pension bills in this manner was fair, “it should do away with pensions of MPs and MLAs and shorten their tenure to two years”.
Bihar has been witnessing agitations since Wednesday, a day after the government came out with the new scheme on a four-year contractual basis.
