Lagatar24 Desk
Patna, June 19: The Bihar government blamed three coaching centres for the violence that erupted during protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme in Masaurhi near Patna on Sunday, according to news agency ANI.
“Info gathered from mobile phones of those arrested from Masaurhi yesterday reveals involvement of three coaching centres, FIR registered. 23 FIRs registered, 147 arrests made so far,” ANI quoted Dr Chandrashekhar Singh, district magistrate of Patna.
This comes only a day after the Bihar Police Department announced that it was looking into the role of coaching centres in inciting unrest in the state. According to Patna DM Chandraskhekhar Singh, 46 persons were detained for the destruction at Danapur railway station, out of a total of 170 people apprehended. The video footage and WhatsApp chats of several coaching centres were discovered among the suspects arrested, according to the DM.
On Friday, protests against the Agnipath plan in Bihar continued to be marred by violence and burning for the fourth day. Several railway stations were vandalised, and a large number of vehicles were set ablaze.
Protesters assaulted Taregna railwat station on the Patna-Gaya train section in Patna, throwing stones and setting fire to 12 vehicles, including a police van stationed outside the station. The demonstrators also vandalised the station and set fire to the reservation and booking counters.
To keep the mob under control, the cops had to employ tear gas shells and fire into the air. In Danapur, protesters stormed an ambulance, and the driver claimed that the patient and attendants inside were also thrashed.
According to a senior railway official, violence during protests in Bihar resulted in the destruction of property worth 200 crores and the entire burning of 50 coaches and five engines.
