Tensions ran high in Bihar on Wednesday during the Bharat Bandh agitation as protesters attempted to set a school bus on fire in Gopalganj. The incident, captured in a video shared by news agency IANS, showed a group of agitators surrounding a yellow school bus filled with children in uniform. Amid the chaos, a man was seen setting a tyre ablaze directly under the bus.
The alarming visuals prompted a swift response from the Bihar Police, who resorted to using lathi-charges and water cannons to scatter the demonstrators. The agitators had blocked railways and roads across several districts in support of the Bharat Bandh, which was organized to demand community-based reservation. The disruptions severely impacted train services at Darbhanga and Buxar railway stations.
In addition to the railway blockades, traffic flow was disrupted in several key districts, including Patna, Hajipur, Darbhanga, Jehanabad, Purnea, Katihar, Muzaffarpur, and Begusarai. The police had to employ baton-charges to disperse the protesters and restore order in these affected areas.
The Patna district administration confirmed in a statement that the Patna police registered three FIRs and took nine individuals into custody for their involvement in the violent protests. In Jehanabad, a confrontation between protesters and security personnel on National Highway-83 near Unta Chowk led to the arrest of five individuals.
Similar incidents were reported from other districts such as Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Begusarai, Hajipur, Purnea, and Katihar, where protesters attempted to obstruct traffic and set tyres on fire. However, the swift intervention of security forces ensured that the situation did not escalate further.
The Bharat Bandh received support from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other members of the INDIA bloc. The nationwide strike was called by 21 organizations in response to the Supreme Court’s August 1 ruling that allows states to sub-classify Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of granting quotas within these groups. The ruling permits sub-classifications to benefit more underprivileged castes within these categories.
As the situation remains tense, authorities are closely monitoring developments to prevent further violence and ensure the safety of the public.
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