PATNA, BIHAR: The Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed 12 cases in the Patna civil court against Chief minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, Patna District Magistrate (DM), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), and other officials following a controversial lathi-charge incident.
The incident in question occurred on July 13 during a protest demonstration march organised by the BJP in Patna.
Allegations have been raised by the complainants, including prominent figures such as MP Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Lajwanti Jha, Jajni Jaiswal, Janardan Sharma Yogi, Abhishek Banti Kumar Ravi, Baliram Mishra, Babulal Shaurya, and others, who claim that the Patna police acted upon direct orders from the Chief minister and Deputy Chief minister when they resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the protesting crowd.
The BJP leadership has further accused the police of employing excessive force during the incident, utilising water cannons, tear gas, and lathis to mercilessly beat the party leaders present at the demonstration.
Among the complainants is Lajwanti Jha, a prominent leader from the BJP women’s wing, who has gone on record stating that the lathi-charge was a premeditated conspiracy to ensnare and brutally assault the party’s leadership.
The complainants’ legal representative, Ratnesh Kumar, stated, “We have submitted a dozen cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including charges under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation).”
This is not the first instance of the BJP taking legal action against the Bihar government in relation to the lathi-charge incident.
Prior to this, an additional 14 cases were filed in the Patna civil court, targeting the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and other officials allegedly involved in the handling of the protest.
The state government has denied the allegations of the BJP and said that the police acted in self-defence. The government has also said that it will take action against the erring police officers.
The lathi-charge incident has sparked a political controversy in Bihar. The BJP has accused the state government of being insensitive to the plight of the people affected by the floods. The state government has, however, denied the allegations and said that it is doing everything possible to provide relief to the affected people.
The next hearing on the cases filed by the BJP is scheduled to be held on July 29.